By Lindsey Coulter
OAKLAND, Calif. — A newly unveiled microgrid system at the Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center in Southern California will add 2 megawatts (MW) of on-site solar generation and 9 megawatt hours (MWh) of non-lithium battery storage capacity to the state’s electrical grid. The system, which is the country’s largest hospital-based renewable microgrid, will increase reliability and support the state’s transition to 100% renewable energy by 2045.
The microgrid also features a 1-MW fuel cell, which will further improve environmental health and reduce costs while providing clean energy. Together, system components will provide reliable electrical power for the hospital’s day-to-day use and will serve as the initial emergency power backup system during commercial power outages. The system has the capacity to serve all the hospital’s emergency power needs for 10 continuous hours.
The project builds on Kaiser Permanente’s longstanding environmental stewardship efforts, as the organization achieved carbon-neutral status in 2020 and has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050—with a midterm target to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030.
“Building on Kaiser Permanente’s legacy of innovation, we are taking a bold step forward in sustainability by embracing clean energy to build a healthier future for generations to come,” said Nor Jemjemian, senior vice president for National Shared Services Operations at Kaiser Permanente, in a statement. “As an organization that has always led the way in driving innovation and change, we remain steadfast in our mission to provide efficient, sustainable solutions while ensuring accessibility and affordability for our members.”
All hospitals in the state are required to have backup power in the event of an electrical grid outage, which most have approached by installing diesel generators. In addition to providing emergency backup generation, however, the Ontario facility’s microgrid increases the hospital’s energy independence and reduces energy-related costs. An automated control system will further manage how electricity is produced, stored and used. When purchasing energy from the grid is inexpensive, the microgrid system will store the renewable energy it produces. When the grid’s energy is more expensive, the system will instead discharge its stored energy.
Kaiser Permanente projects that the microgrid’s on-site solar power will avoid approximately 650 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by producing an estimated 3,300 MWh per year of zero-emission electricity, which is enough renewable electricity to power 275 homes year-round. The organization also installed California’s first renewable microgrid at its Richmond Medical Center in 2017. With 250kW of solar generation and 1-MWh of battery storage, that hospital’s system reduces energy costs and provides limited backup generation.
In a statement announcing the project, the organization referenced research which shows that long-term exposure to air pollution caused by vehicle exhaust, burning fossil fuels, and industrial processes carries an increased risk of poor health conditions including cardiovascular disease—and increases the risk of death from coronary heart disease by 23% and from stroke by 24%.
“We know that pollution and carbon emissions harm people’s health,” said Bechara Choucair, executive vice president and chief health officer at Kaiser Permanente, in a statement. “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.”
The battery storage component of the project was funded through an $8.3 million grant from the California Energy Commission to Faraday Microgrids. The solar power canopies were installed by Ameresco under a power-purchase agreement with Kaiser Permanente.
