Mercy Medical Center gets $4 million grant for new steam system

Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids has been awarded a $4,057,300 federal grant for a permanent steam boiler system to replace steam from the Alliant Energy system that will close this year.

The grant will be used to install six high-efficiency natural gas boilers in an addition to the hospital's physical plant on the north side of the campus, Mercy spokeswoman Karen Vander Sanden said.

The June 2008 flooding on the Cedar River destroyed the Sixth Street Generating Station, which Alliant used to provide steam for the downtown area. Alliant installed temporary natural gas boilers to provide steam last winter, but it plans to disconnect the system this fall.

Mercy Medical Center had paid about $8.25 per thousand pounds of steam before the flood, but under the temporary system the cost rose to about $54 per thousand pounds, Vander Sanden said.

The hospital is now generating its own steam for about one-fifth the post-flood cost, Vander Sanden said. Costs with the permanent system will be close to the current costs.

Installation will begin this fall, Vander Sanden said. The system will be operational in the spring of 2010.

The federal grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration. It was the second grant from the agency to pay for a replacement steam system for distressed non-profits. The agency in June announced a $5 million grant to Coe College and St. Luke's Hospital for a joint steam system.