The Carilion New River Valley Medical Center’s 4,000-panel solar tracking system is paying off in ways beyond the adjacent, zero-carbon power connected into the grid.
Secure Futures finances, owns, operates and maintains the array. These panels began operating in December 2017. The array was installed on farmland next to the hospital. The property is maintained by a local sheep farmer, which helps boost the economic output of the land by eliminating the use of fossil fuels to mow it.
Virginia-based Carilion buys services from Secure Futures. In March, Efficiency and Sustainability Director Sara Wohlford and CNRV Facilities Director Scott Blankenship were given a check of $105,644 for Solar Renewable Energy Credits from Secure Futures.
SREC credits are given based on the amount of energy produced. So far, CNRV has earned $113,633 through the sale of SRECs and offset Carilion's carbon emissions by 5,368 metric tons.
“The solar array at CNRV continues to produce energy above projected capacity,”
Blankenship said. “In addition to reducing our demand for electric power from the grid and lowering the hospital’s energy bills, we will use the funds generated from the sale of the SRECs to reinvest in sustainability projects such as LED lighting upgrades.”
The system is expected to generate approximately $1.5 million in additional savings over the next two decades.
Carilion President and CEO Nancy Howell Agee added, “It reduces operational expenses, producing savings that will ultimately help to reduce health care costs for our community. Hosting a solar array on our campus also makes clean energy available to other utility customers, which helps everybody benefit from solar power.”
