It’s getting greener on Green Street in Gardner, as the long-dormant solar carports at Heywood Hospital are now officially active.
On Jan. 23, hospital officials met with elected officials and project leaders to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony to switch on the solar carport arrays on the in the hospital’s north parking lot. The project represents new energy-saving partnership between Heywood Healthcare, National Grid, RER Energy Group, and General Energy Solution USA, Inc.
The solar carports went live on Jan. 1, according to officials. The panels are connected via wiring to the hospital building, meaning the hospital will be generating some of its own electricity.
“The activation of this solar array is a proud moment for Heywood Healthcare,” said Rozanna Penney, president and CEO of Heywood Healthcare. “By partnering with industry leaders like National Grid, RER Energy Group and GES, we are not only investing in the future of our facility but also in the long-term health and well-being of the community we serve.”
The project, which is aimed at helping the hospital lower its costs while conserving energy, had been in the works for several years but the plan encountered a variety of hurdles on its way to completion.
“I remember being in high school when the solar panels were first being built,” said Mayor Michael Nicholson, adding that Heywood Hospital has played a role in the life of everyone who lives in the city. “It’s great to be able to see this (project) take off the ground and really see what this inspires for other people to follow suit across the city.”
The panels, which were erected in 2017, will also provide shade for cooler cars in the summer and protect vehicles from snow in the winter.
Morgan Steacy vice president of connections and strategic accounts with National Grid, said it took a lot of creative thinking among several partners to get the project to the finish line.
“It’s one thing to look at a project on paper, but it’s another thing to bring that story to life and think about the economic development that this is going to support, the jobs, and even having the healthcare and human services here locally in the region is really important to us as a company,” she said. “We have to be creative, and we have to bring people into the narrative, so this is just a great exemplary project of making that happen.”
The hospital’s initiative to go green with the sustainability project began about 15 years ago but was halted when the original project’s owner declared bankruptcy, according to Shane Doherty, vice president of operations at Heywood Healthcare.
“That loss of window made it so that we fell out of the original study group, and once that happened, you get put back at the end of the line,” Doherty said. “But all of those things only help (to) sharpen the resolve of everybody that was involved to show today that nobody gave up along the way – the project ultimately will be instrumental in helping Heywood lower their energy costs (and) be more sustainable.”

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