Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente finalized an energy purchase agreement to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral in 2020.
Kaiser purchased 180 megawatts of clean energy to enable the construction of utility-scale solar and wind farms, along with the nation's largest battery-energy storage system. The deal provides Kaiser with enough renewable energy equivalent to power 27 of its 39 hospitals.
"Climate change is here. We are seeing the effects of it in devastating wildfires, hurricanes and droughts already impacting people's lives," Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson said in a news release. "At Kaiser Permanente, we understand that one of the most effective ways to protect the health of the more than 68 million people in the communities we serve is by ensuring healthy environmental conditions. By investing in renewable energy and becoming carbon neutral, Kaiser Permanente is helping to prevent climate-related illness for people worldwide."
Kaiser announced its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2020 in 2016. The system has also achieved a 29 percent reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions since 2008; reduced water usage by 12 percent per square foot of building space since 2013; and opened California's first LEED platinum-certified hospital — Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center — in April 2017.