Irvine Medical Plaza Adds 322-kW Solar Carports

Watthub Renewables and Sunrock Distributed Generation completed the solar system at Irvine Heritage Medical Plaza under a 25-year power purchase agreement.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Healthcare

Vector editorial illustration of angled solar panels on a steel carport casting a geometric shadow over an empty parking lot.
Irvine Heritage Medical Plaza now runs 322 kW of solar carports under a 25-year power purchase agreement with Sunrock Distributed Generation, which owns the array and sells its output to the property below Southern California Edison's rate. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Solar modules were installed on carports covering about 108 parking spots at the Irvine Heritage Medical Plaza, a three-story medical office building in Irvine, California. Sunrock DG owns and maintains the 322-kW array, and the property buys the power it produces at a rate below Southern California Edison's.

Why it matters

The project was delivered with no upfront capital from the building's ownership, offering a model for medical properties seeking lower electricity costs. Solar generation is netted at the building's master meter, reducing its total electricity cost for tenants and operators in Irvine.

The 322-kW system is expected to produce about 515,690 kWh in its first year under a 25-year power purchase agreement. The source does not report actual generation or realized savings to date.

The players

Watthub Renewables

Watthub Renewables is a solar developer that financed, engineered and contracted the Irvine Heritage project and also developed a 300-kW carport project for the Foothill Medical Association.

Sunrock Distributed Generation

Sunrock Distributed Generation is a solar owner-operator that now owns and maintains the Irvine Heritage array under the power purchase agreement.

Southern California Edison

Southern California Edison is the regional electric utility whose GS-3-TOU commercial rate the plaza's master-metered account is billed under.

The details

Watthub and Sunrock DG financed, engineered and contracted the project, with SunRenu Solar serving as contractor. The plaza, built in 2008 on just over two acres and containing about 40,000 sq ft of medical suites, is master metered through a single Southern California Edison account on the GS-3-TOU commercial rate.

Timeline

  1. 2008: Irvine Heritage Medical Plaza was built.

  2. Earlier this year: Watthub developed a 300-kW carport project for the Foothill Medical Association in Foothill, California.

  3. First year of operation: The Irvine system is expected to generate approximately 515,690 kWh.

  4. 25 years: Term of the power purchase agreement.

Market Landscape

The project follows the third-party power purchase agreement model, in which a developer finances and owns solar on a customer's property and sells the output back at a discount. Applying that structure to a Class A medical office carport installation shows the model reaching commercial healthcare real estate in Southern California.

For tenants and patients of the Irvine Heritage Medical Plaza, the solar system lowers the building's total electricity cost through master-meter netting. The project requires no upfront capital from the building owner, so any savings flow without a direct cost to the property's operators.

The takeaway

Third-party solar financing lets medical properties cut electricity costs without capital outlay, a model already extended from Irvine to projects like the Foothill Medical Association carport. Property managers weighing similar installations can review how master-metered netting and PPA terms apply to their own utility rates.

Further reading

For related coverage of medical facility operations, see Healthcare in the Irvine Healthcare section.

Source note: This article includes information reported by Solar Power World.