Pueblo Community Health Center’s new East Side Clinic doesn’t have electric bills. It doesn't have gas bills either.

The center has gained the distinction of being the first verified health care facility in North America to win a zero energy verification.

That means the clinic at 1301 E. Seventh St. generates more power than it uses thanks to the more-than 600 solar panels installed on the building’s roof and parking lot carport roof. There are no gas bills either because a high-tech geothermal pump system provides heating and cooling, said Donald Moore, Pueblo Community Health Center chief executive officer.

“From a community health perspective, climate change and climate warming are having negative impacts on health,” Moore said. “The Journal of American Medical Association a couple of years ago published an article documenting worsening health of the population as a result of warming.”

“When we were developing our East Side Clinic to expand access to primary health care, a physician board member asked the administration if we could use the development of the building to have a positive impact on climate change at a local level. It is a massive, worldwide concern but the sentiment is, think globally, act locally,” Moore said.

Research showed the cost benefits of building a net-zero facility would be favorable, considering energy prices are rising. Extra costs to install the renewable energy alternatives were about $1.5 million, but “through cost savings on utility bills we will pay that investment off in seven years and this building will serve the community for decades,” Moore said.

As an example, the East Side Clinic is one-third larger than the health center's Colorado Avenue clinic. The East Side Clinic’s utility bills are one-third smaller than the Colorado Avenue clinic, which also has some solar power, Moore said.

Besides helping the environment and saving money, clinic administration wanted to help reach the Pueblo city and county goal of having 100% renewable energy power by 2035. Moore said Pueblo’s steel mill, Colorado State University and Pueblo County’s new justice center all are striving to reach the zero energy goal.

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Center generates more power than it needs

The clinic received its net zero verification from the New Buildings Institute, which is believed to use the “gold standard” in gauging net-zero facilities, Moore said. In the clinic’s first year, it produced 435,744 kilowatt hours of energy and used 423,024 kilowatt hours of energy.

That gives Pueblo the title as the first zero energy medical clinic in North America.

“There may be other projects, but I can’t find them. I would be glad to be corrected if there are others,” Moore said.

The installation of the geothermal heat pump system required extra work by RTA Architects, the engineering consultant Farnsworth Group and the clinic’s builder, Bryan Construction, as they worked together to create the 64,000 square-foot clinic.

In the east parking lot area, 32 wells were dug 500 feet deep. Each well has a total of 1,000 feet of pipe, with half leading underground and the other half leading back up to the building.

Those underground loops total 6 miles of pipes, Moore said.

Through a complicated system of pumps, the system cools the building in the summer and heats it in the winter. As natural light from south-facing windows warms the south side of the building, the system helps circulate that heat to the north side to maintain a comfortable temperature.

The building’s state-of-the-art insulation helps.

“I was a little skeptical we would be able to rely solely on that system. I figured if it got too hot we would get complaints from staff and patients, but they were comfortable, and last summer was pretty hot,” Moore said.

“That’s one summer, but it is really reassuring."

An added benefit: The normal fan blowing sounds you would expect from an air conditioning or heating system just aren’t there. “You don’t hear that,” Moore said.

The clinic includes a pharmacy, lab and dental services, in addition to medical and behavioral health care. It is expected to serve an additional 5,000 patients over the next 10 years.

To learn more about the health clinic, call 719-543-8711 or visit pueblochc.org.

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Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo's East Side Clinic is first zero energy health facility in U.S.