By HFT Staff

Ameresco, Inc. announced its collaboration with the University of California, Irvine and its health system, UCI Health, to install two solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays atop new parking structures at the innovative, all-electric, zero-emission medical campus with the acute care hospital set to open in 2025. This initiative represents a major step towards UCI Health’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality and procuring 100 percent clean energy, making the new UCI Health – Irvine Campus Medical Complex in addition to The Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care one of the most sustainable healthcare facilities in the nation. 

Ameresco is responsible for the turnkey design, engineering, arrangement of financing and construction of the new PV systems. In addition, Ameresco will provide operation and maintenance services to ensure optimal system performance over the full 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) term. The PV arrays, with a combined capacity of approximately 1.4 MW, are expected to generate over 2.3 million kWh of clean energy in the first year alone equivalent to the annual energy consumption of over 200 homes. 

The UCI Health – Irvine medical campus opened in 2024, with outpatient care at the Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care and the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building. The final phase includes a 144-bed acute care hospital and is slated to open in 2025, providing state-of-the-art medical care to the surrounding community.