Harborview Medical Center has installed a nearly 100 kilowatt solar array on the roof of the West Hospital building. The solar array will be the largest on any hospital in the state of Washington and will help offset the energy costs of the medical center. McKinstry, a Design-Build firm, managed the project. The solar array was installed by A&R Solar.
Grants from Seattle City Light’s Green Up program and the Department of Commerce helped fund the project. Seattle City Light’s Green Up program, which provides funding for local renewable energy programs and projects, awarded Harborview $50,000. The Department of Commerce’s Energy Efficiency Grant Program helps state and local agencies pay for energy-efficiency upgrades and solar installations, and awarded Harborview an additional $47,000.
Harborview and McKinstry have worked together for more than eight years to reduce energy costs and increase the reliability of the hospital’s infrastructure. Projects have included lighting upgrades, fan replacements and heating and cooling upgrades. Cumulatively, these projects are saving over $500,000 annually and reducing the medical center’s carbon footprint by 155,394 pounds of CO2, equivalent to 232,110 miles not driven.
