Combined Heat and Power Alliance | 3100 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 800 | Arlington, VA 22201 | 703.717.5590 | chpalliance.org

In the United States, healthcare facilities of all kinds process more than 1 billion visits every year. Hospitals service the bulk of these visits, processing roughly 900 million healthcare consumers annually.1 Patients expect safe, consistent, and efficient care during these visits, which is made possible by reliable and affordable energy. Combined heat and power (CHP) generation systems are reliable and resilient and provide hospitals with the continuous energy supply they need to provide high-quality care.

Fig. 2: CHP Hospitals Installations in the US2

Direct CHP Benefits for Hospitals:

Increased energy reliability Microgrid capability Storm resilience Emergency preparedness Increased patient safety Reduced energy costs Increased energy efficiency Reduced greenhouse gas emissions Insulation from volatile electricity prices Decreased dependence on backup power

generation systems

A grid failure due to weather, malfunction, or an emergency puts considerable strain on hospitals. Repairing delicate systems and machinery can prove costly, and patient safety can be compromised. CHP systems let hospitals operate as “microgrids,” allowing them to continue to run even during a grid-wide power outage. This provides for immediate, continuous, and comfortable operation. Microgrids also eliminate the need for expensive back-up systems, which hospitals must otherwise use in the case of grid failure. In the US, over 200 hospitals have installed CHP systems, providing 772 MW of capacity.2 However, the US Department of Energy estimates that 7,312 MW of potential remains in US hospitals alone.3

772

7,312

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Existing Capacity Technical Potential

Meg

awat

ts (M

W)

CHP Installations in Hospitals

Existing Capacity Technical Potential

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Potential in Hospitals

Total: 772 MW

Figure 1: CHP Capacity at US Hospitals Compared to Technical Potential 2,3

Combined Heat and Power Alliance | 3100 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 800 | Arlington, VA 22201 | 703.717.5590 | chpalliance.org

Texas Medical Center (Houston, TX): The Texas Medical Center utilizes a 48 MW CHP system that generates 100% of the electricity load for the 19 million square foot medical campus. The system remained operational during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and was able to provide life-saving services without interruption during and in the immediate aftermath of the storm. In addition to the resiliency benefits CHP provides the hospital, it also has helped the hospital save $200 million over 15 years.

Eastern Maine Medical Center (Bangor, ME): After an ice storm left the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor without power for 16 hours and incapable of providing medical services, the facility switched to CHP in 2003. Because the hospital is of central importance to the area’s economy, and because it is the only facility serving the area, it is crucial that it remain open year-round without interruption. Since completion, the CHP plant has saved the medical center more than $1 million in energy costs annually.7

CHP Success Stories

Hospitals rely on electricity to power tools that keep patients safe and on the road to recovery. When electricity goes out, they overwhelmingly rely on backup generators, which don’t always function as intended. During the 2011 power outage in San Diego, California, backup generators at two separate hospitals failed within hours of the blackout. Some patients in the hospitals’ emergency and intensive care departments had to be moved to other local hospitals with

Case Study: Why hospitals need dependable power

1CDC. “Visits to physician offices, hospital outpatient departments, and hospital emergency departments, by age, sex, and race: United States, selected years 2000–2015.” 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/2017/076.pdf 2U.S. DOE. “Combined Heat and Power Installation Database.” Installations as of December 31, 2018. https://energy.gov/chp-installs 3 U.S. DOE. “Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Technical Potential in the United States.” March 2016. https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/04/f30/CHP Technical Potential Study 3-31-2016 Final.pdf 4San Diego Union Tribune. “Generators failed at two hospitals during blackout”. 2011. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/sdut-regional-hospitals-fully-operational-friday-2011sep09-story.html 5US DOE. “Combined Heat and Power System Enables 100% Reliability at Leading Medical Campus”. 2013. https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/11/f5/teco_chp__recoveryact_casestudy.pdf 6US DOE. “CHP Installation Keeps Hospital Running During Hurricane Harvey”. 2017. https://www.energy.gov/eere/amo/articles/chp-installation-keeps-hospital-running-during-hurricane-harvey 7 Kerry, John M. et. al. Office of the Governor Maine. “Combined Heat and Power Report”. 2010. https://www.maine.gov/energy/pdf/CHP_Report_Only.pdf

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A worker error caused the massive 2011 outage that impacted parts of Southern California, Arizona, and Baja California.

Eastern Maine Medical Center

Texas Medical Center

functioning generators while battery packs were used to power ventilators and monitoring devices until new generators could be installed. Although no patients were negatively impacted by the outage, this example demonstrates the necessity of reliable and resilient electricity generation for hospitals to ensure they can provide the care patients need; CHP can help hospitals ensure they can meet their energy needs, even when the electrical grid fails.4