Hackensack University Medical Center’s Central Utility Plant Awarded Performance Excellence in Electricity Renewal (PEER) Certification

This Earth Month, Hackensack University Medical Center is thrilled to announce the hospital's new Central Utility Plant was awarded the Performance Excellence in Electricity Renewal (PEER) Gold certification by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). This project, designed in collaboration by RSC Architects and Page, with Concord Engineering Group, is the first medical center in the nation to certify at the Gold level, the first PEER-certified project in New Jersey, and the third medical project to be PEER-certified in the United States.

PEER is a metrics-based certification program that evaluates and verifies a power system’s performance across four performance categories – reliability and resiliency; energy efficiency and environment; operations, management, and safety; and grid services. Through certification, PEER recognizes and celebrates industry leaders who are improving their efficiency, day-to-day reliability, and overall resiliency. A PEER certification also signifies that a system is resilient in the face of disasters, reliable in its ability to meet every day needs, and sustainable in a way that prioritizes efficiency and mitigates the impacts of climate risk.

Hackensack University Medical Center’s 44,000 s.f. state-of-the-art Central Utility Plant includes:

• A 180,000-pound-per-hour boiler plant.
• A 12,000-ton chiller plant.
• A 7,500-kilowatt diesel generator plant.

As Mark D. Sparta, FACHE, President & Chief Hospital Executive, Hackensack University Medical Center and President, North Region, Hackensack Meridian Health notes, “Facilities like our Central Utility Plant really serve as the lifeline of our campus, and allow our world-class doctors and nurses to provide the life-saving services that our patients depend on. Achieving and receiving GBCI’s PEER certification validates the environmental resiliency and improvements this plant offers by enabling our hospital to provide advanced patient care and to serve our community when they need us most.”

Since its completion in June of 2020, Hackensack University Medical Center’s Central Utility Plant has achieved the following:

• A 50% reduction in chilled water pumping costs.
• A 75% reduction in cooling tower costs.

These cuts, along with the PEER Gold certification, aline with the Department of Health and Human Services emissions reduction and climate resilience goals for the health sector, which Hackensack Meridian Health committed to by signing this pledge. The objective of reducing emissions 50% by 2030 and be at net zero by 2050.

John P. Capazzi, AIA, President of RSC Architects, comments, “It’s been an honor to design such a vital piece of infrastructure that serves as the foundation for the hospital’s fundamental healthcare services. Achieving PEER Gold certification further solidifies the progressive stance that Hackensack Meridian Health takes when it comes to resiliency, and highlights the importance of integrating sustainable features into architecture early for the benefit of our communities.”

Modeled after LEED, PEER is the first rating system that measures and improves power system performance and electricity infrastructure. PEER encourages the adoption of reliable, resilient, and sustainable practices, and helps utilities solve aging infrastructure, find cost savings, share best practices, build for resiliency, and enhance tracking to determine and prevent failures.

As Peter Templeton, President and CEO of USGBC and GBCI notes, “Access to reliable, clean and affordable electricity is an essential component of quality of life. When power systems fail – lives are immediately interrupted and put at risk.” By achieving PEER certification, Hackensack University Medical Center is investing in the well-being of everyone who relies on their power system by providing reliable, sustainable service.”

For more information or an interview, please contact: mary.mcgeever@hmhn.org.