A Healthy Investment
Charging Stations at Rochester Regional Health
“All environmental concerns eventually just become health concerns.”
MICHAEL WALLER
Director of Sustainability, Rochester Regional Health
On Emission
Rochester Regional Hospital sought to limit its greenhouse gas emissions and determined that one of the largest sources was actually transportation of staff to and from locations. “One of the only ways to reduce that is if you can encourage staff to drive a zero-emitting vehicle,” says Michael Waller, the hospital’s Director of Sustainability. Charging stations would thus have to be installed and, thanks to grant funding, about 95% of the upfront installation was covered. “In a couple of our locations, literally they are completely free to install,” Waller adds.
Creating a Buzz
The hospital currently has close to 90 charging stations and plans on installing 40 more this year due to high demand. “Once we installed these stations, a lot of people went out and got electric vehicles and started using them,” says Waller. “There is one physician who said that they saw the charging station at their location and every day they'd walk in the building, they'd feel guilty about how they're damaging the earth, driving their large SUV,” Waller adds. “And then they went out and bought an electric vehicle as a result of seeing those stations. Overall, the staff reaction has been very positive.”
Project Highlights
95% of installation costs covered by grants
100% of maintenance costs covered by revenue
Expanding by adding 40+ stations this year
MIKE MOSER
President of EV Charge Solutions
Charging to Charge
The hospital debated whether to charge a small fee for using the charging stations or not, and eventually decided that a small fee was best. “We learned that it was important to charge a fee for the stations,” Waller explains.”“There's a lot of other people that might work there that get upset that you're providing ‘free’ fuel. So we made sure we included a fee that basically just covers the cost of the electricity and the maintenance for the equipment.” According to Waller, they’re “actually making a little bit of money on it.”
Business is Electric
This demand is not isolated to this hospital. “Five years ago, people were buying one or two chargers to install at a hotel or wherever. And today they're putting 20 and 30 in at a time,” explains Mike Moser, President of EV Charge Solutions, the company that installed the stations at Rochester Regional. With grant opportunities from NYSERDA, the New York Power Authority, the Department of Environmental Conservation, to name a few, most projects are funded 100%. “I've never seen a better time to take the plunge,” adds Moser. “May as well do it while the money's there.”
An Extension of Care
Climate change issues hit especially close to home for a hospital. “All environmental issues eventually cause some sort of damage to human health,’ Waller explains. Conditions such as asthma have a direct correlation to air quality, for example. “We’re in the business of treating that damage, so this is really just a core piece of what we do on a day-to-day basis,” adds Waller.
Feeling Validated
Of course, any sustainability project requires financial sign off from the get-go. “The biggest question from folks that approve the installation is: ‘How much is this going to cost us in the long term?’” Waller says. Thankfully, the amount generated from use covers the cost of the chargers, and then some. “We’ve been able to validate that it really doesn’t cost us anything and provides a big benefit to the staff for a need that they are constantly asking for,” Waller adds. This successful pilot program now has given the hospital the confidence to expand upon it. “Those smaller steps ultimately gave us confidence into taking those next larger steps.”