UF Health gets $7 million backup generator for Shands Hospital

A 96-wheeled truck with a police escort dropped off a 270,000-pound generator to UF Health Shands Hospital on Thursday morning.

The 10,000-horsepower generator will provide emergency power to the Cancer Hospital and surrounding new buildings, said Brad Pollitt, the vice president of facilities for UF Health. This will help if the main power grid goes down.

Both Gainesville Regional Utilities and Shands wanted an energy-efficient backup generator. It cost more than $7 million, and the generator will be ready for test operations in March.

Pollitt said the project has been in the works since Shands Cancer Hospital was created in 2009. At about 10:30 a.m. the massive machine found its home on Archer Road without causing major traffic disturbances, Pollitt said.

“The unit is funded by GRU and is recovered through a long term contract with UF Health,” wrote Chuck Heidt, the project manager for the south energy center, in an email.

The generator will be one of the most efficient machines in the nation, Heidt said.

In the event of a hurricane or city-wide power outage, the generator will allow UF Health hospitals to have the power they need to function normally, Pollitt said.

“There’s not very many hospitals nationally that have this type of model where the local power company works with the hospital,” Pollitt said. “This generator means the hospital will never be without power.”