Kaiser Permanente announced today that it will increase its onsite solar generation capacity by as much as 50 megawatts, with additional installations planned for its medical campuses and other locations.
Kaiser Permanente says that it has already installed solar panels at 13 locations, including hospitals, medical offices, and a distribution center. With a generation capacity of 11.3 megawatts, these arrays generated 18 million kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2013. This is equivalent to the electricity use of about 1, 200 average American homes each year, the company says.
As part of its commitment, Kaiser Permanente will increase its on-site generation capacity in 2014 with solar installations at many additional locations in Hawaii, California, and Colorado. It will also assess than 100 other locations in California for the potential to add onsite solar. The company estimates that the initiative could increase the its total onsite generation capacity by as much as 50 megawatts.
In all, the company says, these solar initiatives could increase its on-site renewable generation from 2% to between 6% and 8% of its total electricity requirement in California.