WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa – Dec. 17, 2012 – Interstate Power and Light Company, an Alliant Energy company, is recognizing Great River Medical Center as a leader in energy-efficient work in Iowa, and the country.
This year, Great River Medical Center applied for and received an ENERGY STAR® rating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). After years of work to reduce energy use and implement efficient strategies, Great River Medical Center achieved a top score of 100 on the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Energy Performance Scale. It is only the second hospital in the country to achieve a top score since the scale started including hospitals in 2003.
The scale measures how efficiently buildings use energy as a whole, relative to similar buildings nationwide. While the top score is 100, the average score for hospitals is about 83. A rating of 50 indicates average energy performance, while a rating of 75 or better indicates top performance and qualifies a building for the ENERGY STAR label, according to EPA.
“This score of 100 gives us confidence in our approach to reduce energy consumption and allows us to focus on patient care. We’ve committed to cutting-edge energy efficiency since we began construction of our facility in 1997,” said John Mercer, director of Facilities at Great River Health Systems. “The health system takes the cost of providing health care very seriously. Saving money by reducing energy consumption allows us to keep our customers’ costs as low as possible.”
To date, only 179 buildings in Iowa have applied and earned an ENERGY STAR label. Of those, only three have earned a score of 100, including Great River Medical Center.
“Earning a top score of 100 takes commitment, and we’re proud to partner with Great River Medical Center to help them achieve success and lead by example,” said Jeanine Penticoff, director of Energy Efficiency, Account Management, and Economic Development at Alliant Energy. “We are committed to working with our customers to help them meet their energy-efficiency and sustainability objectives.”
During the initial construction, Great River Medical Center built the largest lake-coupled geothermal ground loop in the country at the time. Since then, the hospital has continued to search for ways to increase energy-efficiency through retrofits, efficient expansion projects and, most recently, with a retro-commissioning study. This study identified opportunities to fine-tune the existing building automation system to increase the efficiency in managing energy consumption of the heating and cooling system.
Energy savings can have a substantial impact on health of the healthcare industry itself. According to ENERGY STAR, “Healthcare organizations spend nearly $8.8 billion on energy each year to meet patient needs. Every dollar a nonprofit healthcare organization saves on energy has the equivalent impact on the operating margin as increasing revenues by $20 for hospitals.”
Alliant Energy’s continued commitment to energy efficiency is a key part of the company’s long-term energy resources plan. The energy resources plan balances the company’s supply of energy resources, provides safe and reliable service and maintains competitive costs for the benefit of customers. The plan also includes:
- Investments to reduce emissions and increase efficiency of IPL’s existing coal-fired generating units
- Purchase of nuclear power from the Duane Arnold Energy Center located in Palo, Iowa
- Construction of the natural gas-fired Marshalltown Generating Station
- Continued commitment to renewable resources
Media Contact: Justin Foss, (319) 786-4788