California hospital unveils solar + storage microgrid

With the recent Los Angeles wildfires still fresh on the mind of many, one healthcare provider has unveiled a new microgrid system that adds new generation and storage to the grid while serving as an emergency backup in case of outages.

Kaiser Permanente is touting what it calls the “largest hospital-based, renewable energy microgrid system” in the United States. The new microgrid system at the Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center in Southern California adds 2 MW of on-site solar generation and 9 MWh of non-lithium battery storage capacity to the state’s electrical grid, in addition to a 1-MW fuel cell.

The microgrid provides power for the hospital’s day-to-day use and will serve as the initial emergency power backup system during commercial power outages. It has the capacity to serve all the hospital’s emergency power needs for 10 continuous hours. Kaiser Permanente achieved carbon neutral status in 2020, and has pledged to become net zero across all 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. “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 California hospitals are required to have backup power in the event of an electrical grid outage affecting their area, traditionally in the form of diesel generators.

In addition to providing emergency backup generation in the rare case of a power outage, the Ontario microgrid increases the hospital’s energy independence and reduces its energy costs, Kaiser Permanente said. An automated control system will manage how electricity is produced, stored, and used at the site. When buying 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 anticipates the microgrid’s on-site solar power will avoid about 650 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by producing roughly 3,300 MWh per year of zero-emission electricity.

“We know that pollution and carbon emissions harm people’s health. 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,” said Bechara Choucair, executive vice president and chief health officer at Kaiser Permanente.

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.