Unison Energy and Sonoma Valley Hospital Build Microgrid System to Make Hospital More Resilient During Natural Disasters 

Microgrid provides heat, power to hospital and will deliver supplemental power during power outages caused by severe weather, earthquakes and wildfires

SONOMA, Calif. — Unison Energy, a behind-the-meter energy as a service provider that designs, builds, owns, operates and maintains microgrid systems that generate energy and therms at places where power is needed most, and Sonoma Valley Hospital, announced the completion of a microgrid; a combined heat and power system which generates power for the Hospital’s inpatient buildings. The microgrid provides a supplement to the Hospital’s emergency generator during a power outage. 

The Unison system is a microgrid independent of PG&E that provides resiliency and supplies power to equipment that is not connected to the Hospital’s emergency generator. In the event of a natural disaster or a PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) that impacts PG&E power to the Hospital, the Unison COGEN system has the capability to produce power to supplement the Hospital’s existing emergency generator and provide added resiliency. The hospital selected Unison’s system because it has the capability to island, meaning it can produce power when the rest of the public utility grid is offline. 

In addition to generating power, the system also captures heat and hot water emitted from the generation of power and sends them to the hospital’s boiler system to provide heat in the hospital. 

“In the wake of increased droughts and wildfires that have risked life and property in California, leaders have had to think creatively. Fortunately, the team at Sonoma Valley Hospital are thinking about the future and building systems that make critical infrastructure like the Sonoma Valley Hospital more resilient when the worst happens,” Mariko Meier, CEO of Unison Energy, said. “The Unison Energy team and the Sonoma Valley Hospital team have done a great job building this system and bringing it online. We are excited to get to work.” 

Sonoma Valley Hospital President and CEO Kelley Kaiser said, “When people in our community need us most, our hospital is there. People should be able to count on their local hospital to be safe, open, and ready to provide care. This project will help us deliver that care when it matters most.” 

Sonoma Valley Hospital contracted with Unison Energy under an Energy-as-a-Service model for this system. The Energy-as-a-Service model means that Unison will operate and maintain the microgrid for the system’s life and will provide regular maintenance. The agreement allows the hospital to stabilize its utility costs, hedge against inflation and reduce demand costs from PG&E. And, because Unison is operating the system, the hospital’s facilities team can remain focused on supporting the patient care that is provided at the hospital. 

Kimberly Drummond, Sonoma Valley Hospital’s Chief of Support Services, and the Engineering Team were instrumental in bringing the project to the hospital and managing the unique challenges of building a microgrid on the Hospital’s small campus. During the construction phase, Unison, in partnership with the hospital, handled every step of the project from local permitting and interconnection to construction and commissioning. State regulatory mandates and PG&E infrastructure upgrades presented complex hurdles that Unison solved to get the project over the finish line.

Sonoma Valley Hospital Chief of Support Services Kimberly Drummond said, “Impacts of the 2017 wildfire, subsequent PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs and state regulations led the Hospital to pursue a microgrid option. Former Plant Operations Manager Grigory Gatenian reviewed many options that were not a fit for us. He eventually connected with Unison Energy who offered a turnkey solution to meet our hospital’s need for further resiliency and utility cost savings. With the COGEN system now online, we have achieved all of our objectives.”  

Built for Resilience

Unison designed the system to withstand the unique weather and geological challenges California faces. It was built to the seismic requirements set by California’s Department of Health Care Access and Information. The company tested the system in an offsite lab and successfully demonstrated that it can meet HCAI’s specific seismic standards. 

The installation meets the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) air permit requirements, which are some of the most stringent in the country. 

And, the system is also designed so that it can transition from natural gas to alternative fuels like hydrogen, renewable natural gas and other combustible options as those fuels become more readily available and financially feasible in the area. 

These features will allow the hospital to continue serving the community in times of need and extreme weather, with high-quality medical care.

About Unison Energy:

Unison Energy provides turnkey energy solutions underpinned by long-term fixed price contracts with investment grade counterparties with no commodity exposure. The Company designs, builds, owns, and operates microgrids on-site for critical infrastructure facilities including hospitals, data centers, food & beverage and other industrial, supply chain logistics, and hospitality customers in North America. Unison Energy is headquartered in Greenwich, CT. For more information, please visit www.unisonenergy.com.

About Sonoma Valley Hospital:  

Sonoma Valley Hospital (SVH) is a full-service acute care district hospital located in the city of Sonoma, California, providing compassionate expert care to the 42,000 residents of the Sonoma Valley Health Care District. The Hospital has 24 acute care beds and maintains a 27-bed Skilled Nursing Facility. SVH is the sole local provider of acute inpatient care and offers a 24-hour emergency room, inpatient services with an ICU, surgical services and outpatient clinical testing and treatment.

In recent years, the hospital has undergone extensive renovation including opening a new wing with a modern Emergency Department and Surgery Center. In 2018, the hospital announced affiliation with UCSF Health. The hospital is fully accredited by the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ), meeting national standards for healthcare quality and safety.