PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Recognizing its many environmental and economic benefits, today NRG Yield, Inc. (NYSE: NYLD/YNLD.A) broke ground on a new District Energy Center in Pittsburgh’s Uptown District. UPMC Mercy will be the Center’s first and anchor customer, and provides an example of Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto's energy vision and NRG’s Yield’s initiatives in renewables, energy efficiency and greener, healthier communities.
The new energy center will deliver steam, chilled water and backup power to UPMC Mercy and additional future customers with higher efficiency, lower carbon emissions, and lower capital and operating costs compared to multiple, stand-alone systems. The plant was situated in the Uptown District because of the opportunity to serve UPMC as well as well as future tenants on the 28-acre site that the Pittsburgh Penguins are developing nearby. NRG Yield will be marketing the system and its benefits to businesses and organizations that want to be more energy efficient and cost-effective.
NRG Yield currently owns and operates the North Shore Energy Center, two interconnected steam and chilled-water plants serving 30 buildings and more than six million square feet of space, and customers including PNC Park, The Carnegie Science Center, and Allegheny General Hospital.
During the groundbreaking, Chris Sotos, CEO of NRG Yield, noted “We’re thrilled to break ground on this facility and welcome UPMC as our first new and anchor customer. They and future customers will enjoy the improved efficiency, lower environmental footprint, flexibility, and reliability that district energy brings.”
According to UPMC Mercy President Michael Grace, "This project addresses a current need at UPMC Mercy as well as aligns with UPMC's overall mission as a health care provider to improve the health status of the communities we serve. We are proud to be a key partner for NRG Yield, and UPMC is investing back into Uptown and downtown Pittsburgh to ensure the UPMC Mercy campus is viable for many years to come."
Mayor Peduto, who participated in the groundbreaking, said "UPMC and the City will certainly benefit from NRG Yield building and operating this new energy center. It further cements Pittsburgh's leadership in clean energy solutions, and supporting new and clean technologies. I look forward to making the city a world-wide model for district energy production."
Rob Thornton, President of the International District Energy Association (IDEA) said at the event “IDEA commends the City of Pittsburgh, UPMC Mercy and NRG Yield for investing in a new district energy system that will provide reliable, resilient and efficient energy services. Utilizing district energy allows UPMC Mercy to focus resources on its primary mission of world-class health care.”
About NRG Yield
NRG Yield owns a diversified portfolio of contracted renewable and conventional generation and thermal infrastructure assets in the United States, including fossil fuel, solar and wind power generation facilities that have the capacity to support more than two million American homes and businesses. Our thermal infrastructure assets provide steam, hot and/or chilled water, and in some instances electricity, to commercial businesses, universities, hospitals and governmental units in multiple locations. NRG Yield’s Class C and Class A common stock are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols NYLD and NYLD.A, respectively.
About UPMC Mercy
A $14 billion world-renowned health care provider and insurer, Pittsburgh-based UPMC is inventing new models of patient-centered, cost-effective, accountable care. UPMC provides nearly $900 million a year in benefits to its communities, including more care to the region’s most vulnerable citizens than any other health care institution. The largest nongovernmental employer in Pennsylvania, UPMC integrates 65,000 employees, more than 25 hospitals, 600 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites, and a more than 3 million-member Insurance Services Division, the largest medical and behavioral health services insurer in western Pennsylvania. Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC ranks No. 12 in the prestigious U.S. News & World Report annual Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals. UPMC Enterprises functions as the innovation and commercialization arm of UPMC while UPMC International provides hands-on health care and management services with partners in 12 countries on four continents. For more information, go to UPMC.com.