Thanks to financial support from a TransAlta Centralia Coal Transition Grants Energy Board grant of $238,036 grant to the Providence Health Care Foundation, Providence Centralia recently completed a roof remodel and installation of 280 solar panels, that will produce more than 111,000-kilowatt-hours of clean energy per year.
Installed by South Sound Solar, the array of solar panels is the largest of any healthcare provider in Washington.
“We are tremendously grateful for the investment from TransAlta and this grant,” said Dr. Kevin Caserta, site administrator for Providence Centralia Hospital and a foundation board member, in a news release. “This project helps us continue to move toward our vision of health for a better world, which includes overall environmental stewardship.”
Funding from TransAlta was used solely and specifically to purchase and install the solar panels component of the project. The about 2-foot by 4-foot panels cover about 75 percent of the hospital’s C-Wing roof. The power produced by the panels flows directly into the hospital’s electrical distribution system to power its equipment and buildings. The solar-produced energy will save the hospital more than $10,000 in electricity cost per year.
“The Centralia Coal Transition Board is proud to have the opportunity to bring an alternative energy project to Providence Centralia Hospital, our largest employer in Lewis County,” said Matt Matayoshi, a board member.
Earlier this year, Providence Centralia earned the 2020 Partner for Change Award from Practice GreenHealth, one of 17 Providence ministries throughout the organization’s seven-state footprint to garner acknowledgment from the organization.
Providence has committed to becoming carbon negative by 2030.
“The climate crisis is a public health emergency that is dramatically impacting the poor and vulnerable,” said Geoff Glass, Energy & Sustainability Program Manager for Providence. “Our Providence vision – Health for a Better World – commits us to do its part to ensure a healthy environment for all, as we work to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts, through careful use of resources and acquiring renewable energy. We support health and build climate resilience in the communities we serve, while we advocate for environmental justice.”
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