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Sonoma Valley Hospital officials are hoping to save some green by going green.

During a special board meeting Wednesday of the Sonoma Valley Health Care District, boardmembers unanimously agreed to pursue state energy grants, which could supply the hospital with millions to make the facility environmentally friendly. Chief Executive Officer Carl Gerlach said the hospital could definitely use the savings. The facility's energy bill runs to approximately $800,000 a year. Additionally, as plans continue to develop for a replacement facility, hospital designers are developing numerous ways to save both dollars and the environment.

"From the very start, the importance of a green design for the project was recognized and embraced," said Bob Rice, communications director at the hospital. When the Sonoma Valley Health Care Coalition was developing hospital ideas, the group recommended the hospital board pursue green building. The hospital is seeking grants under the California Energy Commission's Energy Efficiency Financing Program, which provides energy grants that apply both to the supply and demand of power. In the first step, an engineer from the commission would come to the hospital to help analyze ways the hospital could improve energy use.

This could be completed as soon as January, and the hospital could see a grant for as much as $3 million to help decrease its energy consumption. Funding could be used to modify the heating and cooling systems, incorporate automated energy consumption systems to decrease the hospital's energy intake during non-peak hours, and to incorporate green building techniques.

"We know we need to update the (heating/ventilation/air conditioning) system," Gerlach said. "They're not very efficient." An additional $2 million could be available to implement ways for the hospital to develop its own source of energy. Gerlach said this means exploring solar panels.

Architects and engineers designing for the new facility are already looking into utilizing solar panels. In a design meeting (known as a "charette")  held in early December, designers reported that, "Green power will be investigated and assessed during the hospital design phase for feasibility and value." They detailed plans to research renewable energy options including solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro-generated green power.

"In general we would follow the guidelines from the Green Guide for Healthcare, which is part of the U.S. Green Building Council and (Leadership in Energy and Efficient Design)," said Scott Wing, director of health care with HKS Architecture, one of the firms designing the new facility. Designers are also planning to examine the potential of eco-friendly plumbing such as waterless urinals and utilizing storm drains to collect and reuse rainwater.

At this point, the design is still in its infancy, but with potential monies from the California Energy Commission, the hospital is making every attempt to go green.

"With any new design we want to be as environmentally friendly as possible," Gerlach said. "In this case, it saves us money."

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