Can a hospital run entirely off of renewable energy? That’s exactly what Ameresco is aiming to prove is possible.
What’s happening:
- Renewable energy company Ameresco (NYSE: AMRC) has entered into a partnership with UCI Health to install two solar photovoltaic arrays to power their new Irvine, California based hospital entirely through solar energy
By the numbers:
- The solar arrays that will be installed by Ameresco will have capacity of 1.4 megawatts
- In the first year of operations, Ameresco’s solar arrays are expected to produce 2.3M kilowatt hours of clean energy which is roughly the amount of electricity required to power 200 households
Why it matters:
- This is the first time ever in the United States that a hospital will be powered entirely by solar energy and capable of operating without producing any carbon emissions whatsoever
Going deeper:
- UCI Health has designed every aspect of their new hospital to be energy efficient and produce zero emissions, including removing any dependence on natural gas, using electric boilers and installing air source heat pumps
The intrigue:
- Publicly traded American solar energy companies have been continuing to scale up amidst a large boom in demand for solar energy infrastructure for both residential and commercial applications, including FREYR Battery (NYSE: FREY) recently buying Trina Solar’s solar module manufacturing facilities located in Wilmer, Texas
