As Monday’s solar eclipse unfolded, officials with SSM Health held a dedication ceremony for the solar field project at St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia. According to hospital officials, phase one of the solar field was completed last August. The field sits on the west side of the hospital, northwest of the emergency room. It contains more than 500 solar modules and is expected to generate more than 327,000 kilowatt hours of electricity over its first year of operation.
The phase one solar field covers the equivalent of one-fifth of a football field, and officials are planning for an even larger phase two, which will include 1,170 panels and cover the equivalent of one and a half football fields.
Earlier in the day on Monday, SSM Health staff held a dedication ceremony for the solar field at Good Samaritan Hospital in Mount Vernon. It is expected that the Good Samaritan solar field will produce similar savings to the St. Mary’s field, once it is operational.
SSM officials say the solar fields are part of the company’s commitment to “Care for Creation” and to transfer power sources to clean, renewable energy.
Shown is the solar field that sits just northwest of SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia. (Submitted Photo)
