Huntsville Memorial Hospital (HMH) previously relied on diesel-powered backup, which only supported life-safety loads and left the hospital without HVAC and other critical services. During outages, the hospital could only provide limited services, leading to operational disruptions, cancelled surgeries, and potential patient relocations. As a result, the HMH team considered a costly diesel retrofit option that was limited by switchgear capacity and continued fuel supply risks. The second option was new onsite generation powered by natural gas, which would provide full-facility backup power, reduce emissions, and eliminate concerns related to diesel fuel logistics.

HMH contracted with Enchanted Rock to install a 1.2 MW microgrid integrated into the existing natural gas pipeline network. The system can seamlessly disconnect from the grid and operate autonomously to ensure full-facility power, which is a stark improvement over life-safety backup previously provided by outdated diesel generators. Through Entergy’s Power Through program, HMH was able to secure reliable natural gas generation without taking on upfront capital costs. The program’s shared cost structure allows facilities that require uninterrupted operations to strengthen their resilience while avoiding the financial and operational burden of managing backup power themselves.