WESTERLY – Westerly Hospital is partnering with a local solar farm in Smithfield to access solar energy.
The hospital announced a ground-mounted, 28,000-panel solar farm, located about an hour north of the hospital and operated by Kearsarge Energy, will generate power for the hospital, resulting in more than $400,000 in annual savings.
“Participating in a community solar program enables us to be good stewards of our financial resources while also contributing to the growth of clean energy in Rhode Island,” said Patrick Green, CEO and president of Westerly Hospital, which is part of the Yale New Haven Health System. “Westerly Hospital provides world-class care for its patients and the greatest of care for the environment.”
Westerly Hospital is the first hospital to subscribe to Kearsarge Energy’s newest solar farm project and the first Yale New Haven Health facility to benefit from solar energy.
The farm generates bill credits for every kilowatt-hour of energy produced and these will be applied to Westerly Hospital’s electricity accounts with Rhode Island Energy.
“We are extremely pleased to partner with Westerly Hospital, not only to help them save money on their energy bills, but also to further the mission of clean energy in Rhode Island,” said Andrew Bernstein, CEO of Kearsarge Energy. “This project was complicated due to its size and construction during the pandemic but we are pleased to have it operating.”
Claudia Chiappa is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Chiappa@PBN.com.
