SDG&E Celebrates its 36th Sustainable Communities project

San Diego Gas & Electric has named the new Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Center Downtown a Sustainable Communities Champion, recognizing them for going above and beyond in the areas of energy efficiency and sustainable design. The new medical center will be San Diego’s first LEED® certified medical office building.

Through the SDG&E Sustainable Communities program, SDG&E installed a 75-kilowatt solar panel system on the new medical center’s roof and parking structure that will produce power for the local community. A state-of-the-art interactive touchscreen located in the lobby allows patients to view the solar production in real time and easily access the building directory.

“Not only does this project have renewable energy, but it was also designed and constructed to be sustainable and highly energy efficient,” said Jim Avery, Senior Vice President of Power Supply at SDG&E. “Thanks to our partnership with Sharp Rees-Stealy through our Sustainable Communities program, the energy produced at this facility helps power the community with locally-generated renewable energy.”

The Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Center Downtown is SDG&E’s 36^th Sustainable Communities project. The Sustainable Communities Program advances and promotes the use of clean energy generation technologies within the SDG&E service area.  The program strategically integrates utility-owned generation systems, such as photovoltaics and advanced energy storage with sustainable building projects to provide energy to the grid. All these systems are maintained, and operated by SDG&E.

The new three-story, 66,365-square-foot medical center is situated across the street from the original 86-year-old Sharp Rees-Stealy Downtown location in the Bankers Hill area of San Diego.  The facility houses primary and specialty care, laboratory, physical therapy, radiology, pharmacy and urgent care services.  The new medical center was designed specifically around the Moreton Bay Fig Tree – a San Diego historical landmark – and a board-certified master arborist was brought in to care for the tree during and after construction.