E38 – From the Ground Up: Delivering a First-Cost-Neutral Geothermal Hospital That Cuts Carbon, Cost, and Risk
Healthcare organizations are under increasing pressure to reduce carbon, control operating costs, and deliver resilient infrastructure without increasing first cost or operational risk. For many systems, geothermal remains “interesting,” but still feels unproven at hospital scale.
This session tells the real story of how the University of Maryland Medical System implemented the largest geothermal system ever built for a U.S. hospital as part of a greenfield replacement facility without a capital premium. Using the Shore Regional Medical Center replacement hospital as a case study, we’ll walk through how geothermal shifted from a sustainability aspiration to a core infrastructure strategy that eliminated on-site combustion, reduced long-term operating costs, and improved resiliency.
Attendees will hear directly from the owner on how geothermal fundamentally changed plant planning, space requirements, utility infrastructure, and risk exposure. The session will cover how avoided scope (cooling towers, cogeneration equipment, gas service, structural and foundation impacts) offset new investments in ground loops and heat pump systems, resulting in a first-cost-neutral solution with approximately $1.2M in annual operating savings.
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