Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
Imagine a hospital that only runs on clean electricity. Well, the first one in the US just opened in Irvine, California.
We had Hamid Torabzadeh and Emma Mejia from our Possibly Team look into this new hospital.
Hamid Torabzadeh: Hi, Megan!
Emma Mejia: Hello!
Megan Hall: So, why do we want an all-electric hospital?
Hamid Torabzadeh: Hospitals use a ton of energy – a lot more than other buildings like them.
Emma Mejia: Health care buildings only make up about 4% of all of the commercial floorspace in the US, but they use more than 9% of the energy.
Hamid Torabzadeh: That might sound small, but the same amount of energy could power 20 million US homes.
Megan Hall: Wow, that is a lot of energy!
Emma Mejia: It absolutely is. And hospitals, where patients stay overnight and receive 24/7 care, use the most.
Hamid Torabzadeh: Just think about it – hospitals need to power operating rooms, life-saving machines, infection-control air flows, lighting, kitchens, and so much more. All 24/7.
Megan Hall: Makes sense. But, why does it matter that hospitals use so much energy? I just want the best care possible.
Emma Mejia: Well, so do I. But, making this energy to power hospitals creates a lot of carbon pollution.
Hamid Torabzadeh: And the pollution from powering these hospitals can increase the risk of diseases like heart disease in communities near them.
Emma Mejia: And, that is not good for patients either.
Hamid Torabzadeh: So long story short, when hospitals reduce their carbon emissions, it helps with climate change and the health of the people in their community.
Megan Hall: Got it. But how? Is this really possible?
Hamid Torabzadeh: A good question. And the key is to use electricity, not gas or oil to power your hospital. And to get that electricity from renewable sources, like wind and solar.
Emma Mejia: And this isn’t just a theory. There’s already an all-electric hospital in the US! University of California, Irvine or UCI, opened its new facility on December 10, 2025.
Hamid Torabzadeh: To learn more about how they’re going electric, we talked with Joe Brothman, the director of facilities and general services with UCI Health.
Joe Brothman: There’s no natural gas coming in for heating, cooling, stoves in the kitchen, anything like that.
Emma Mejia: The hospital not only runs everything on electricity, but it also makes some of its own energy using solar power on site.
Megan Hall: How much electricity are they making?
Joe Brothman: We do have 1.2 megawatts of solar generation at this site, so that’s using, or it provides a little less than 10% of the daily use of the electricity for the hospital.
Hamid Torabzadeh: The hospital buys the rest of its energy from renewable sources.
Megan Hall: But what if there’s a power outage? How will they keep patients safe?
Emma Mejia: Just in case something like that happens, the hospital has a backup diesel power generator on campus.
Megan Hall: That all sounds great. Why hasn’t every hospital already done this?
Hamid Torabzadeh: Well, UCI Health is in California, where it’s mild and mostly sunny all year. That gives it some advantages that hospitals in colder places don’t have.
Joe Brothman: We tremendously benefit from our location, the climate, the geography, everything of this site that was selected really bodes well to an all electric campus like this.
Emma Mejia: California is a great place to use renewable energy. As of 2024, more than 60% of the state’s electricity was from renewable sources—especially solar power.
Hamid Torabzadeh: But even with all of these advantages, going all-electric did come with some extra costs.
Emma Mejia: The central utility plant, which takes in all the electricity from the grid, was around $500 million.
Hamid Torabzadeh: Joe says it would have been cheaper if they’d gone with the status quo of using gas.
Emma Mejia: But the leadership at the hospital agreed that using wind and solar was worth the investment.
Megan Hall: Does that mean it’s unlikely we’ll see other hospitals using this approach?
Emma Mejia: Not necessarily. Joe has some basic advice for hospital leaders who are thinking about going all-electric.
Hamid Torabzadeh: First, consider your location and climate.
Emma Mejia: Second, find out how much renewable energy your local provider can offer.
Hamid Torabzadeh: And third, make sure your leadership team is 100% on board and supportive of an all-electric project.
Megan Hall: Got it! Thanks, Hamid and Emma!
That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at askpossibly.org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Bluesky at “askpossibly”
Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and Ocean State Media.
