Powering the future: how Hamilton Health Sciences put cogeneration to work for healthcare

The absolute necessity of a stable and uninterrupted power supply within hospitals makes many of these facilities uniquely suited to cogeneration plants. Hamilton Health Sciences recently completed the largest hospital cogeneration project ever undertaken in the country. Spanning three acute care hospitals and generating a combined total of 22.75 megawatts of electricity, Hamilton Health Sciences' cogeneration plants address energy supply issues by offering a clean and reliable power source completely within the hospital's control, and provide the organization with the potential to generate its own revenue into the future by selling excess electricity back to the province. The following article highlights Hamilton Health Sciences' approach to the project, including some important lessons learned, and may serve as an example for other publicly funded institutions interested in implementing similar projects.