the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Officials from the Valley Hospital and Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) cut the ribbon on a five station electric vehicle (EV) charging system and announced the completion of more than $2.5 million in energy efficiency upgrades at the Ridgewood, NJ hospital.
The Valley Hospital EV charging system is part of a PSE&G pilot program designed to help spur the adoption of electric vehicles in the utility’s electric service territory and the energy efficiency measures were funded in part by the PSE&G Hospital Efficiency Program, which helps pay for the installation of energy efficiency measures at hospitals in the utility’s service territory.
“The Valley Hospital is committed to the environment and the installation of these electric charging stations are just one of the ways that Valley can bring sustainable initiatives directly to our employees and physicians, promoting the reduction in the carbon footprint of our operations on the well-being of the planet,” said Maria Mediago, Vice President of Facilities Management at Valley.
As part of the PSE&G EV charging station pilot program, The Valley Hospital committed to immediately utilizing the five charging stations for staff members who own and drive electric vehicles to the hospital. In return, PSE&G provided the EV charging equipment free-of-charge and the hospital paid for the installation of the units and will pay for ongoing maintenance and electricity costs.
“There are a lot of reasons to like EVs in New Jersey but the lack of charging stations is clearly an impediment to their continued growth,” said Courtney McCormick, vice president – renewables and energy solution, PSE&G. “By partnering with organizations like The Valley Hospital to offer workplace charging, we are hoping to increase the convenience of current EV owners, demonstrate to potential owners that EVs are a viable option and also gather information that we can use down the line as EVs become more popular.”
In addition to providing a convenient charging option for EV drivers, the PSE&G pilot program also allows the utility to collect real-world data about how the chargers are used. This will allow PSE&G to better understand the impact that large-scale EV charging could have on the electric grid, identify areas of potential high-EV charger density and plan for infrastructure upgrades and modifications that may be needed.
The PSE&G EV charging pilot program currently has 50 EV charging stations in service at nine customer locations around the state, including The Valley Hospital. There are 20 additional charging stations under construction at four other customer sites. The utility is also in talks with several other customers with the goal of installing a total of 125 individual charging stations at 25 customer locations by the end of 2016.
In addition to the EV charging system, the $2.5 million in energy efficiency upgrades through the PSE&G Hospital Efficiency Program helped pay for a new air conditioning chiller plant and new variable frequency drives on garage exhaust fans at the hospital. These energy efficiency improvements are expected to save more than 1.8 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, which is enough to power about 250 average-size New Jersey homes for a year.
PSE&G’s Hospital Efficiency Program helps fund the installation of energy efficiency measures at hospitals in the utility’s service territory. Through the program, PSE&G provides an investment grade energy audit at no cost to hospitals, recommends energy efficiency improvements and provides up-front funding for the total cost of the energy efficiency measures. Hospitals typically repay between 35-40 percent of the project costs on their PSE&G bill over a period of 36 months at zero percent interest.
“Hospitals are vital resources in New Jersey,” added McCormick. “Our program allows them to make energy efficiency improvements and save money on energy costs, which frees up resources that they can better use for their core healthcare mission.”
The Valley Hospital will save more than $200,000 a year in energy costs and repay about 40 percent of the project total interest-free over the next three years.
“In 2011, Valley was the first hospital in New Jersey to sign on to the Healthier Hospitals Initiative, a coalition of U.S. health systems committed to, among other things, reducing the use of natural resources and promoting sustainability principles throughout the organization. In addition, Valley is a member of Practice GreenHealth,” Mediago said. “Partnering with PSE&G on this initiative is a cooperative community benefit to reduce the effects of carbon emissions in our community, and these stations serve as a constant reminder that there is a role for everyone in sustainability.”
