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December 15, 2025
ASHWAUBENON – One of Northeast Wisconsin’s newest healthcare facilities is shining a spotlight on clean energy.
The 75,500-square-foot Emplify Health by Bellin Children & Adolescent Center at 2550 S. Ashland Ave. features an advanced solar panel installation that significantly reduces its energy footprint and brings it closer to net-zero operation.
During the building’s construction, Mark Guth – Emplify Health by Bellin team leader facilities maintenance operations – said a total of 580 solar panels were installed on the roof of the building, each with a capacity of 410 kilowatts.
Guth has been monitoring the solar panels’ output, which is projected to reach about 284,000 kilowatt-hours annually – with production naturally fluctuating throughout the day.
In practical terms, he said the solar array produces about the same amount of energy used by 11 single-family homes.
“When the sun is shining bright, our solar panels can fully power this facility,” he said. “But the building is only solar-generated at times.”
At night, when the solar array is not producing energy, Guth said the facility draws electricity from the grid.
“Net-zero functionality means we are using as much energy as we are generating from our solar system, and we’re not using any energy from the grid,” he said. “When the sun’s out, and it’s bright, we’re able to reach that net-zero functionality and generate as much electricity as we’re using.”
On weekends, when lighting, HVAC and other building systems scale back to near-idle levels, Guth said the solar array often produces more energy than the facility consumes.
“When the system over-produces, we actually send the energy back into the grid,” he said. “So, it’s not only producing enough for the building, we’re actually producing enough to help a little bit of the energy grid with Wisconsin Public Service.”
Guth said the team’s approach to design, commissioning and operations – including the use of strategic energy schedules – has enabled the facility to closely control and optimize its energy consumption.
“Not only did we design the building to be energy-efficient, but we’re mindful of the amount of energy we’re using throughout the course of the day so we can meet the energy generation that our solar system provides,” he said. “It’s a two-fold thing: we’re able to be energy-efficient and we’re able to generate electricity and energy.”
Guth said the use of solar energy at the Children & Adolescent Center reinforces Emplify Health’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship.
“The more strategic goal as a healthcare organization is not only to provide affordable health care, but also to be good stewards of the environment,” he said. “That means being able to reduce our carbon footprint and provide a safe environment – especially and specifically like our Children & Adolescent Center and how we can be good stewards to our children in the future. That means reducing emissions and being energy-efficient.”
Paul Vlies, vice president of real estate with Emplify Health, said the center was designed to be innovative in care and in how it operates.
“With the solar panels, we are reducing our energy costs and contributing to a healthier environment for everyone,” he said.
Being a leader in sustainability
Vlies said Emplify Health has incorporated renewable energy features into both new and existing facilities as part of its broader sustainability efforts.
In addition to the Children & Adolescent Center, he said the Emplify Health by Bellin Surgery & Specialty Center is equipped with solar panels to reduce its environmental impact.
In 2015, Vlies said Gundersen Health System (now Emplify Health by Gundersen) became the first net-zero energy health system in the United States.
Recent renewable energy initiatives, he said, include a parking ramp designed to supply about 10% of the hospital’s electrical needs.
“Taking care of our patients and communities goes beyond physical and mental health,” he said. “When we look at how we can improve our environmental health, we, in turn, create healthier and thriving places to live and work.”
To date, Guth said three out of Emplify Health’s 90-plus buildings are solar-generated.
Generally, he said solar installations are considered when planning new buildings or renovating existing ones.
“We always have something going on,” he said. “We’re evaluating other sites, but nothing formal has been decided on. We’re [also] looking at adding to another site, but we haven’t determined which one to go to yet.”
Guth said adding solar involves extensive infrastructure work.
“The roof has to have the load capability to add stuff like this,” he said. “You have to have a good location, have ample sunlight and it always works best if it’s north/south facing because you want to capture the orientation of the sun.”
Guth said though ground-mounted solar installations are often more cost-effective than roof-mounted systems, it is not always a feasible option.
“A lot of our sites are in locations where we don’t have enough infrastructure or real estate to put in ground-mount solar,” he said. “We do have some other sites in rural locations that do, and we are looking at them.”
Guth said he believes Emplify Health by Bellin is a pioneer in the extent to which it has embraced solar energy.
“It’s two-fold: we’re being energy-efficient, and it’s reducing the cost of health care; and it reduces the overall cost to operate our facilities,” he said. “And, like in this case, it’s able to create an energy generation system to offset a lot of that carbon footprint we create. That’s the other side of the spectrum.”
For more information, head to bellin.org.
