The new combined heat and power plant will cut carbon emissions almost by half and provide low carbon heating, hot water and electricity for Addenbrooke’s and Rosie hospitals.

Construction is expected to start at the end of the year and the new energy centre will be fully operational by 2015.

This will save Cambridge University Hospitals almost 30,000 tonnes of CO2 a year, helping the Trust to surpass their sustainability targets.

Grid electricity and gas consumption will be cut by more than half, providing the Trust with greater energy independence and protecting them from rising energy prices.

The energy centre has been designed with the potential to provide energy to future developments on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

Mike Tivey, managing director of Mitie’s Asset Management division, said: “This will be a state-of-the-art energy centre which will deliver significant economic and sustainability benefits.

“In an increasingly volatile energy environment, this will provide CUH with increased energy resilience and predictably priced energy over the long term.”

The Trust’s existing energy centre houses the NHS’s first combined heat and power plant which, for the last 20 years, has been providing sustainable energy to the expanding campus.

With advances in technologies, the new energy centre will house a brand new incinerator, a highly efficient Rolls-Royce combined heat and power plant and will also use wood chip as a fuel source.

Besides the development of the energy centre, Mitie will also reduce energy demand on the existing CUH campus through a number of initiatives including a major lighting upgrade throughout the hospital.