Kaiser Permanente has activated the largest hospital-based renewable energy microgrid in the U.S. at its Ontario (Calif.) Medical Center.
Here are five things to know.
1. The microgrid provides daily electrical power for the hospital and serves as its initial backup system during outages. It can supply emergency power to the hospital for 10 consecutive hours, according to an April 17 news release Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente.
2. The system includes two megawatts of on-site solar generation and nine megawatt-hours of non-lithium battery storage capacity to California’s power grid.
3. Kaiser estimates the microgrid will produce approximately 3,300 megawatt-hours of zero-emission electricity each year, avoiding around 650 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
4. The health system reached carbon-neutral status in 2020 and is aiming to cut emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach net zero across all emissions by 2050.
5. In addition to supporting the hospital’s energy independence and reducing operational costs, the microgrid aligns with broader efforts to improve environmental health.
“We know that pollution and carbon emissions harm people’s health,” Chief Health Officer Bechara Choucair said in the release. “As a health care provider and anchor institution in the communities we serve, Kaiser Permanente has an obligation and an opportunity to protect the health of our members and communities while preventing or mitigating environmental harms.”
