In April of 2011, Practice Greenhealth along with Citi announced a new pilot partnership effort. The program is called the Healthcare Renewable Energy Initiative (HREI) and aims to aid health systems and hospitals in reducing their energy consumption. Practice Greenhealth is a leader in implementing sustainable, eco-friendly practices for healthcare institutions.
HREI offers transparent and flexible financing options for health systems and hospitals that are looking to become more energy efficient. The initiative involves two phases as stated on the program’s website:
An independent engineering firm will conduct a thorough analysis of the potential feasibility of renewable energy alternatives for the health system, based on an analysis of the physical plant and existing energy use patterns.
If the engineering assessment indicates potential feasibility, Citi will work with the hospital to assess, finance and implement the most cost-effective structure that enables the hospital to purchase green energy. In most cases, the most cost-effective structure to achieve these goals is a Power Purchase Agreement
The pilot program will first be tested in New Jersey and Massachusetts. These states already have subsidies for hospitals to use solar power, hedge energy costs, and reduce their carbon footprints. The plan is to expand the initiative to other states in the future.
The HREI can lower a hospital’s overall cost of power by combining tax credits, tax equity, and debt. The result could be a cost savings if the price of renewable energy is lower than the cost of electricity purchased off the grid.
To learn more about the initiative, click here.