La Crosse Hospital Becomes First In Country To Achieve Energy Independence

Gundersen Health System in La Crosse has become the first energy-independent hospital in the country.

Gundersen has been working toward generating all its own energy for its hospitals and clinics for a few years. Among its many projects, the system has constructed wind turbines, built methane digesters at dairy farms in Dane County, and has a facility that captures biogas released from the La Crosse County landfill.

Gundersen has now had 12 days total where it produced more energy than it consumed.

CEO Dr. Jeff Thompson said they’ve spent about $30 million on the projects. He said the investments should have a return in eight years, much of that from savings on energy costs.

“We didn’t set out to become the greenest health care system in the country,” said Thompson. “What we set out to do was to make it easier for our patients to breathe. We set out to improve our local economy. We set out to lower the cost of care.”

Major conservation efforts have also helped cost savings, with more efficient heating systems and light bulbs installed in the hospitals and clinics.

Jeff Rich is the executive director of Envision, Gundersen’s energy subsidiary. He said a goal is to have many more days where they completely offset their energy usage.

“Natural inclination, if you look at energy use in our facilities and others over the past, has been to trend upward — more computer systems, more technology getting used — so it’s very hard to maintain,” Rich said. “So we have to be vigilant and be constantly working on getting out systems to improve.”

Rich said that Gundersen is offering consulting services and working with other hospitals across the country to help with energy savings.