ONE of Swansea's oldest hospitals is powering up for a 21st Century makeover.

Health chiefs have unveiled plans for an innovative energy centre that will support Cefn Coed Hospital's future power needs in a more environmentally friendly way.

Green bio-fuels and a wind turbine are options for the centre, which, if it goes ahead, will be clad in cedar panels to help it blend in with surrounding woodland.

It is part of a wider planning application sent to Swansea Council, including modern replacement facilities for long-stay patients at Cefn Coed.

These include an 18-bed rehabilitation unit and two small step-down units for patients soon to be discharged.

The new buildings will replace older accommodation deemed no longer fit for purpose, and are planned for a section of land being cleared in the new year when old, disused wards are demolished.

Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University NHS Trust assistant planning director Lindsey Jones said: "It is planned to move away from the more traditional use of fossil fuels to an energy centre producing all of the site's energy requirements with a low carbon footprint.

"The wind turbine will contribute approximately 10 per cent of the electrical energy and all of the other innovative designs will be sustainable, so it will be much better for the environment."

The energy centre scheme includes an option of a 15-metre high vertical axis wind turbine to produce electricity, and a biomass boiler to generate heat.

The wind turbine has been designed to be as visually unobtrusive as possible, doing away with traditional windmill-style blades and instead using three curved arms to catch the breeze.

All electricity and heat generated from the energy centre will be fed directly into the new hospital developments.

The trust has also applied for permission for a specially-designed timber bat house for Greater Horseshoe and Pipistrelle bats which will be displaced when the disused wards are demolished.

It also wants planning permission for general housing on another section of the cleared site once the old wards have been demolished.

"The buildings have been a magnet for vandals and thieves over the past year," said a trust spokeswoman. "A later application will involve further new facilities for elderly patients."