Client Name: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health System
Project Name: Solar Procurement
Project Description:
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health (D-H) is a nonprofit academic health system that serves a patient population of 1.9 million in New England. The main campus, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Facility, is a 2 million square foot facility that employs 7000 people. Within that campus, the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital has decided to proceed with the installation of a solar energy system of approximately 2 MW at the main campus in Lebanon, and asked CESI to serve as owner’s agents in the procurement and installation of this system.
As owner’s agents, CESI helped Dartmouth-Hitchcock decide on a financing source (PPA vs. self-ownership), determine the scope of the project (size & siting), draft the Request for Qualifications (RFQ), select final bidders, and distribute the full RFP to potential vendors. In support of that process, CESI helped resolve whether D-H could take advantage of the solar investment tax credit (ITC) if self-financed, and how tax-exempt bond-financed properties might host a solar installation if PPA-financed. CESI also devised a parametric financing model to test the economic advantages of self-financing relative to outside financing and projected utility rates.
Once complete, the solar generation project at Dartmouth-Hitchcock will provide a model for other hospitals and large non-profits looking to lower energy costs, advance their environmental goals and lower their carbon footprint, and/or maintain a secure source of emergency energy supply during grid outages.
Relevant Expertise: Solar and Storage Procurement and Financing