America's 1st all-electric hospital under construction in California

IRVINE, Calif. - The first all-electric medical campus in America is being built right here in Southern California. 

The medical center in Irvine will be solar-powered, and all power will be generated on the hospital campus. 

It's expected to be up and running by the end of 2025. 

Because it's the first of its kind, the building and every piece of equipment will undergo rigorous testing to make sure everything works as planned in a variety of temperature and humidity conditions. 

Hospital officials say there are many benefits. 

"This is going to be one of the greenest hospitals in the country, so not only are we going to have lower local emissions, but we're going to be resilient to things like natural disasters such as earthquakes," said Joe Brothman, UC Irvine Health Director of Facilities & General Services. "We're not going to have steam lines running. We're going to have a modular design that's hopefully going to withstand some of the most risky and threatening things that our community faces." 

Hospitals on average use about five times as much electricity as equivalent office-size buildings, Brothman said.

The hospital will have backup generators powered by diesel fuel as part of its disaster preparedness. 

"Just like most other hospitals, this one is being designed with an extremely robust emergency power system that will be tested on an ongoing basis," he said. 

Brothman added that hospitals are audited regularly for their emergency power system, among other things.