Skip to Main Content
Close  X
Salem Hospital campus map

NSMC News Releases

NSMC Power Plant Earns Highest Rating From U.S. Green Building Council
10/7/2014

North Shore Medical Center (NSMC’s) new state-of-the-art central utility plant has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED is a certification program that sets the standard for environmentally responsible construction in the United States.

 

The NSMC facility, located on the NSMC Salem Hospital campus, is one of only four LEED certified power plants in the country, and one of only two to receive the LEED Gold designation. In addition, it was recognized as being the most energy efficient of all certified power plants in the country. 

“Throughout the entire planning, design and construction process, every effort was made to reduce NSMC’s impact to the environment,” says Mary Jo Gagnon, Senior Vice President of Operations. “Our goal from the beginning was to create a facility that would generate cleaner, safer and more cost-effective energy for the entire NSMC Salem Hospital campus.” 

 

Not only is the new power plant more energy efficient, it is also expected to save NSMC $300,000 annually in energy costs that can be redirected to patient care.

“Building operations are nearly 40% of the solution to the global climate change challenge,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “While climate change is a global problem, innovative companies like North Shore Medical Center are addressing it through local solutions.”

Some of the key features of the facility that helped earn the LEED Gold designation include:

  • Advanced cogeneration system powered by natural gas that generates electricity and also converts waste heat into useable energy, enabling NSMC to generate 40 percent of its own electricity.
  • Computer-controlled boilers that increase/decrease steam production based on need.
  • A condensate return system that captures unused steam/water and returns it to the boilers, decreasing the use of Salem city water by 2,000 gallons per day.

To receive LEED certification, build projects must satisfy prerequisites established by the U.S. Green Building Council and earn points to achieve different levels of certification based on a rating system. There are four levels of certification: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. 

 

North Shore Medical Center (NSMC) is a multi-site health system headquartered in Salem, Mass., which includes NSMC Salem Hospital, NSMC Union Hospital in Lynn, MassGeneral for Children at North Shore Medical Center, NSMC Heart Center, NSMC Women’s Center and the physician network known as North Shore Physicians Group. NSMC and Massachusetts General Hospital together provide care at the Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care and the Mass General/North Shore Cancer Center in Danvers. NSMC is a member of Partners HealthCare, which was founded by Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. #northshoremed

###