The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Feb. 20 recognized the following healthcare facilities with the Energy Star Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Award:
Medical Area Total Energy Plant, LP, Boston, Mass.
Montefiore Medical Center, New York, N.Y.
New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, N.Y.
CHP, also known as cogeneration, simultaneously produces electricity and useful heat from a single energy source such as natural gas.
“Our Energy Star CHP award winners are better serving their … patients while safeguarding the environment,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, in a press release. “These institutions are protecting their critical operations from power outages and our climate from harmful carbon pollution with more reliable and more efficient CHP systems.”
The winning facilities’ CHP systems range in operating efficiencies from 69 to 75 percent, which not only reduces energy costs, but also prevents carbon emissions equal to those created by electricity use in 17,400 homes.
One of the key drivers for any healthcare facility considering a move to CHP is to increase energy reliability by decreasing the facilities’ dependence on the local utility. This is critically important to hospitals, which need to remain fully operational during power outages.
To read more about the individual winners, or to learn more about the EPA’s Combined Heat and Power Partnership visit the EPA website.
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