UPMC expands renewable energy footprint with first solar farm

UPMC will build its first solar farm at one of its hospitals outside of Pittsburgh, increasing its footprint in renewable energy and advancing its longtime sustainability initiative.

The 5.5-megawatt facility will be built over the coming months at UPMC Cole, a 25-bed critical-access hospital in Coudersport, Potter County, in north-central Pennsylvania. The land is owned by UPMC and will include not only the arrays and infrastructure but also a road accessing it, said Dr. Michael Boninger, chief medical sustainability officer of the Pittsburgh-based health care organization.

The UPMC Center for Sustainability is using the incentives through the Inflation Reduction Act to help build the solar farm in cooperation with utility FirstEnergy Corp and partner GreenWorks Development. It will become operational in 2027.