UCSF Medical Center Rewarded $800K for Sustainability Efforts from PG&E
Because sustainabiltiy was a central part of how UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay was designed and constructed, PG&E officials rewarded UCSF with $804,000 in incentives specific to sustainability and energy efficiency. Photo by Noah Berger
When leaders at UC San Francisco were planning to bulid UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay, they made sure that state-of-the-art energy efficiency systems were integrated in the design of their new buildings.
Those efforts were rewarded March 17 as PG&E representatives provided the hospital with a check for $804,000 in incentives that came via that focus on sustainability and energy efficiency.
Laurie Giammona, PG&E’s chief customer officer, pointed to four LEED-certified buildings as evidence of UCSF’s commitment to efficiency. She also noted the importance of energy reliability to a facility such as a hospital.“We value our partnership with PG&E,” said UCSF Medical Center CEO Mark Laret. “We’re going to see more and more benefit from these efforts.”
“By incorporating groundbreaking sustainability efforts in such a beautiful, thoroughly patient-centered environment, UCSF has created a new standard for places of healing,” said Giammona, a PG&E senior vice president. “The UCSF Medical Center is one of the crown jewels of the city.”
From designing buildings that take advantage of natural light and San Francisco’s moderate climate to installing high efficiency chillers and boilers, the hospital has saved on energy from the moment it opened its doors on Feb. 1.
Per PG&E’s calculations:
- Since 2008, UCSF has implemented projects that combine for annual savings of 25.3 million kWh of electricity and 2.7 million therms of natural gas, significantly reducing the hospital’s greenhouse gas footprint.
- UCSF’s efforts reduced their energy usage enough to power nearly 4,900 homes for a year.
- Reductions resulted in nearly 20,000 metric tons of avoided CO2, the equivalent of taking nearly 4,200 cars off the road for a year.
- Mission Bay Hospital will use 50 percent less power than the average U.S. hospital.
- In fact, the hospital is projected to save $784,000 on its energy costs annually.
After the check-presentation ceremony, officials from the UCSF Medical Center joined Giammona, Stephanie Isaacson, the senior manager for PG&E’s San Francisco Division, and other PG&E representatives on a tour of medical center.
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