NRG Renew LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc., the country’s major independent power producer, has entered into an agreement with Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit healthcare providers, to help Kaiser Permanente achieve its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions three years ahead of its promised date. Utilizing as much as 70 megawatts (MW) of on-site solar from NRG Renew, Kaiser Permanente will achieve the top ranking of on-site installed solar capacity among U.S. healthcare companies.

As part of Kaiser Permanente’s strategy to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020 and address the threat of climate change on human health, NRG Renew will implement a single-brand, multi-site distributed solar program at as many as 170 sites, which will include medical offices, hospitals, clinics, data centers and other Kaiser Permanente facilities.

“This massive project underscores Kaiser Permanente’s leadership position in the healthcare industry, demonstrating the company’s commitment to improving human health by addressing climate change while showcasing NRG Renew’s capabilities to execute large, multifaceted solar projects in partnership with the nation’s leading companies,” said Tom Doyle, President and CEO of NRG Renew. “We are proud to partner with Kaiser Permanente and other forward-thinking companies who are finding unique and successful ways to lead in the race to a clean energy future.”

Kaiser Permanente’s Chief Energy Officer, Ramé Hemstreet, said that as a healthcare provider, Kaiser Permanente feels especially obligated to reduce its environmental footprint. “Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources over time is one of the most impactful actions we can take to address the effects of climate change on health.”

Solar photovoltaic arrays will be constructed and integrated primarily on carports and parking structures, providing welcome shade from the California sun to more than 20,000 parking spots used by Kaiser Permanente members, visitors and employees. The planned aggregate coverage area will make the NRG Renew–Kaiser Permanente portfolio one of the world’s largest solar projects built primarily for vehicle parking. Utilizing parking structures to harness solar energy is important because in a typical city, pavements account for 35 percent to 50 percent of surface area, of which about 40 percent are exposed parking lots, according to research by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Once all projects are complete, Kaiser Permanente’s total installed on-site solar capacity will place it among the top three on-site commercial solar portfolios among all U.S. companies.1 Helping businesses and consumers effectively achieve their sustainability goals today is a key tenet in NRG’s own sustainability goals and contributes to NRG’s vision for a clean energy future.

Electricity generated by the solar installations will be sold to Kaiser Permanente under a long-term power purchase agreement, offsetting each facility’s use of grid power and increasing the total use of clean, emission-free electricity. The combined installations are expected to offset 6 percent to 8 percent of Kaiser Permanente’s load throughout the state.

Renewable initiatives like the NRG Renew–Kaiser Permanente project, which generate their own on-site clean energy, will also help contribute to California’s recently announced goal of 50 percent renewable energy by 2030.