U.S. health care company Kaiser Permanente has finalized an approximately 180 MW power purchase agreement (PPA) with NextEra Energy Resources for solar and wind energy, along with battery storage.
The purchase will enable Kaiser Permanente to achieve its goal of being carbon neutral in 2020, the company says. The agreement will also make Kaiser Permanente the largest purchaser of renewable energy in the U.S. health care sector, according to the company, which will use more than 1 million MWh of green power annually.
NextEra will build and own the projects, enabled by the new PPA. The solar farm (131 MW) and battery storage (110 MW) will be located in eastern Riverside County, Calif., and although the wind farm (50 MW) will be located across the border in Arizona, the power transmission will be delivered directly to the California grid.
Kaiser Permanente expects to begin receiving associated renewable energy credits in 2019, and the projects will come online in 2020 and 2021. The approximately 180 MW of clean energy will be enough to power 27 of the company’s 39 hospitals year-round.
“Climate change is here. We are seeing the effects of it in devastating wildfires, hurricanes and droughts already impacting people’s lives,” says Bernard J. Tyson, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente. “At Kaiser Permanente, we understand that one of the most effective ways to protect the health of the more than 68 million people in the communities we serve is by ensuring healthy environmental conditions. By investing in renewable energy and becoming carbon neutral, Kaiser Permanente is helping to prevent climate-related illness for people worldwide.”
A member of RE100, the company announced in 2016 its plans to become carbon neutral in 2020. Since 2008, it has achieved a 29% reduction in net greenhouse-gas emissions.
