Listeners are aware I recently posted two articles related to decarbonizing the healthcare industry. One regarding Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits and another arguing CMS update two, 2016 regulatory rules to allow providers to use for solar microgrids for their emergency power supply. Listeners are also aware I’ve conducted well over 25 climate crisis-related interviews over the past several years. For these reasons, this discussion is an attempt to help providers know better how to develop renewable energy power for their own use, specifically solar plus storage microgrids, i.e., what operational advantages solar microgrid power offer, how these renewable energy microgrids are funded and constructed and benefits they offer providers and the patients they treat. With me to discuss this topic is Mr. Andrew MacCalla, the CEO and Co-Founder of Collective Energy.
As a related aside, please note on December 8th the National Academy of Medicine launched, under its "Grand Challenge on Climate Change, Human Health and Equity," its “Climate Community Network” initiative. For related information please go to: https://nam.edu/programs/climate-change-and-human-health/climate-communities-network/.
During this 33 minute interview, Andrew begins by describing Collective Energy's goal, i.e., moreover to prevent patients from dying via power outages. He explains reasons for the increasing need for reliable or uninterrupted power, e.g., outages are more frequent and lasting longer. He provides a general description of planning and installing solar/clean energy microgrid power using a recent installation at a community health center in New Orleans, explains how and why this work is becoming increasingly turn key, how financing is achieved, i.e., how construction can require no out of pocket costs in part via use of forthcoming Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, and the return on investment to the provider or community health center and the benefits to the provider's patient population.
Mr. Andrew MacCalla is the the Co-Founder and CEO of Collective Energy Company, a social business specializing in bringing clean and reliable power to non-profit community health centers in the US and abroad. Andrew is also the Principal Advisor to Direct Relief’s Power for Health Program. He previously served as the Vice President of Emergency Response and New Initiatives at Direct Relief that provides over $2.5 billion in medical resources and over $100M in grant funding to people in over 100 countries and 55 US States and territories annually. Andrew spent two years living in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and was on the ground overseeing responses to emergencies like Hurricane Sandy in New York, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the Ebola crisis in W Africa, the Syrian refugee crisis, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Dorian, wildfires in CA, and the Covid19 pandemic. Andrew also led the team in Puerto Rico who have implemented over 400 recovery projects on the island since Hurricane Maria. He has also overseen numerous post-disaster infrastructure and energy projects, including the installation of over four megawatts of solar and battery storage for critical health facilities and community water wells that lost power after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. In the Bahamas, Andrew led efforts to repair and rebuild health facilities that were damaged or destroyed in Hurricane Dorian. Mr. MacCalla studied philosophy at University of California, Santa Barbara and earned a MA in Public Policy and Management at the University of Melbourne. He has written numerous articles for the Huffington Post and The Sacramento Bee.
Andrew MacCalla Discusses Reducing Healthcare's Carbon Emissions Via Solar Microgrids (December 9th)