The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President
Obama on February 17th provides significant new funding for energy
efficiency. The concerted effort made by NAESCO, its member
companies, and the coalitions of businesses, states, energy and
environmental organizations, trade associations and manufacturers of
energy efficient products that NAESCO worked with has resulted in an
unprecedented national acceptance of energy efficiency as a key
element of future growth and prosperity.
Our advocacy has resulted in some great new market opportunities
and provides a significant first step in a major federal commitment
to energy efficiency. Highlights of the Act include the following:
Our efforts will now shift to working with Federal government,
state and local government agencies that will be administering the
funding provided by the Act, to help them understand how to make the
best use of the ESCO infrastructure that is in place across the
country. We will try to help them deliver comprehensive energy
efficiency and renewable energy projects, that leverage every
taxpayer dollar to the greatest extent possible with private
investment, and that transparently account for producing sustainable
energy resources and good long-term jobs.
We know that we have a lot of work to do with the Obama
administration on its priority program to make federal facilities
energy efficient. We need to quickly get the ESPC contract ceiling
lifted and the issues of project competition in the Defense
Appropriations Act resolved. We also need to work with the GSA
regions that have historically used ESPC to expedite new ESPC
projects that can be national models of how to most effectively use
the stimulus appropriations.
Finally, we need to continue our discussion with the Congress, to
ensure they see the energy efficiency appropriations in the Act as a
new beginning that will be extended later in the year through the
pending energy and climate change legislation as well as the FY10
federal appropriations bills.
Congress accepted many of the arguments made by NAESCO and others
that large-scale energy efficiency projects have consistently
produced jobs that cannot be exported. NAESCO supported this claim
with a 2007 LBNL study reporting that ESCOs have delivered more than
$50B in verified energy savings, produced in excess of 330,000
person years of direct employment, improved $25 billion of
infrastructure at federal, state and local facilities and saved more
than 430 million tons of CO2. NAESCO also referenced a Center for
American Progress report which concluded that $100 billion invested
in energy efficiency and renewable energy would produce about 2
million new jobs as well as a study of energy efficiency effects on
employment in California which concluded that the implementation of
residential conservation measures saved residents $56 billion over
35 years, creating about 1.5 million jobs.
The ESCO industry has a major job ahead of us in the next few years
to demonstrate to the Congress and the Obama Administration that the
billions of dollars in new funding for state and local government
energy efficiency programs will produce the expected employment and
economic boost.
We also need to do more policy and advocacy work going forward to
convince lawmakers that Congress should make energy efficiency
funding available to all federal agencies and that the funding
should be leveraged and used for comprehensive projects that
integrate energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. While
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act appropriated funding for
energy efficiency projects at GSA, HUD, and DOD, it omitted funding
for other federal agencies, did not appropriate enough money to get
the job done at GSA, HUD or DOD, and omitted guidance about how the
funding should be used. NAESCO pointed out in its advocacy work that
in the last 10 years, 195 ESPCs implemented through FEMP have
invested about $3 billion in federal civilian facilities and have
produced about 28,500 jobs. We argued that energy efficiency in
public buildings can be accelerated with modest federal incentives
that are leveraged roughly 3:1 with private investment thereby
maximizing energy and dollar savings as well as job creation.
We need to reinforce that message this year with the new senior
managers the Obama Administration will appoint. NAESCO will help
them understand that in addition to providing significant leverage
for the federal government investment, FEMP- delivered projects
using ESPC and UESCs provide comprehensive integration of energy and
water conservation and efficiency measures, full utilization of
renewable energy technologies, and accountability through long-term
monitoring of project savings and savings guarantees. No other
delivery system can match this record of accomplishment.
The renewable energy industry received substantial support from
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Some key credit
and loan guarantee provisions include the following:
For more information on any of the NAESCO advocacy work or to
suggest other areas in which NAESCO should be involved, please
contact Donald Gilligan, NAESCO's President, at 781-793-0250 or
donaldgilligan@comcast.net.
The study, which analyzes the green economy and provides a
sector-by-sector breakdown of revenue and job opportunities,
reported that the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries
generated $1 trillion in revenue and provided more than 9 million
jobs. The report updates analysis and data from the original report,
"Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Economic Drivers for the
21st Century", published in 2007.
The authors also forecast the growth of RE and EE by 2030,
looking at three scenarios. Under the advanced scenario which
assumes that policy initiatives are introduced that "push the
envelope", RE and EE would generate $4 trillion of revenue and
create 37 million jobs, 17% of all anticipated U.S. employment. In
contrast, the base case scenario, which assumes no change to current
policy initiatives, yields $2 trillion in revenue and 16 million new
jobs.
According to Natalie Mims, consultant on RMI's Energy and
Resources Team, "Closing the electric productivity gap through
energy efficiency is the single largest near-term opportunity to
immediately reduce electricity use and greenhouse gases, and move
the United States forward as a leader in the new clean energy
economy."
According to the authors, electric productivity is a measure of
how much gross domestic product is generated for each kilowatt-hour
consumed. The authors believe the top performing states, which
include New York, Connecticut and California, can serve as examples
of how other states can overcome barriers to implementing efficiency
measures, regulate utilities and implement technologies.
This paper is the first in a series that examines what states can
do to increase their electricity productivity.
Member News
For a full list of all NAESCO Member News and Projects,
please
click here.
Project and Products
San Jose Unified School District, Chevron Energy Solutions
and Bank of America Announce Completion of Largest K-12 Solar
and Energy Efficiency Project in U.S.
San Jose Unified School District, Chevron Energy Solutions
and Bank of America announced the completion of what is
believed to be the largest K-12 solar and energy efficiency project
in the United States. The project, which includes a total of 5.5
megawatts of solar power at 14 district sites, is expected to reduce
the district's energy costs by more than 30 percent. Reductions in
energy costs are expected to save the district's general fund more
than $25 million over the 25-year life of the project. The district
will reduce its purchase of utility power through this program,
which is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 100,000
metric tons, equivalent to planting more than 1,400 acres of trees.
Variable-speed drives and premium high efficiency motors were
installed in the district's swimming pools to improve energy
efficiency. Students within the San Jose Unified School District
will also have the opportunity to learn first hand about energy use
and the solar power generated on their campus with the aid of
interactive kiosks.
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Pepco Energy Services Awarded $55 Million ESPC with Baltimore City Public Schools
Pepco Energy Services was chosen to provide a
comprehensive energy efficiency and guaranteed savings program
for the Baltimore City Public School System. The 15-year
contract calls for Pepco Energy Services to provide
high-efficiency lighting and water conservation measures, the
replacement of heating and cooling systems, the expansion of the
energy management control system and the installation of new
windows. To assure that the energy savings are achieved, Pepco
Energy Services will provide on-going maintenance for all the
equipment being installed for the entire term of the contract.
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ConEdison Solutions Helps Smithville Schools Earn
the EPA's ENERGY STAR for Superior Energy Efficiency
The Smithville R-II School District earned the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's prestigious ENERGY STAR. The
Smithville School District earned the honor for the $1.9 million
energy efficiency program completed by Custom Energy Services, a
ConEdison Solutions company. The upgrades have
helped the district to reduce annual energy consumption by 33
percent and have produced annual savings of nearly $86,000 a
year.
Custom Energy Services helped the Smithville School District
improve its energy performance by replacing rooftop units, replacing
windows and ceilings, retrofitting lighting, implementing a new
energy management system, and improving water conservation measures.
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SAIC Awarded Energy Savings Performance Contract by the
U.S. Department of Energy
Science Applications International Corporation has been
awarded an ESPC by the U.S. Department of Energy to design,
construct, and obtain financing for projects that will reduce
energy and water consumption and costs, and promote the use of
renewable energy technologies across federal agencies. The
multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract
has a five year base period of performance, two two-year options
and a total contract ceiling of $5 billion if all options are
exercised. Work will be performed by SAIC's design-build
subsidiary, The Benham Companies LLC.
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North Carolina County Invests $1.2 Million Through Performance
Contracts with TAC to Improve Energy Efficiency at
Facilities
Wilson County, N.C., has reduced its utility costs by $107,000
annually since completing $900,000 in facility upgrades to
improve operations, comfort and efficiency at 10 county
buildings totaling 363,000 square feet. The county is now
launching a second phase of facility enhancements at its
detention center and a newly acquired office property. This
$330,000 project will save an additional $29,000 annually,
helping the county to achieve its objective of reducing utility
charges by at least 15 percent annually. The county has achieved
both projects through performance contracts with the Energy
Solutions division of TAC.
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Akerman Senterfitt Active in Brownfield Redevelopment
The law firm of Akerman Senterfitt is playing an active
role in Brownfield redevelopment projects. Recent Akerman
Brownfield work includes a California project where Akerman
attorneys assisted a national developer with its proposal to
acquire and construct a regional shopping center on a portion of
a formerly hazardous waste landfill. In Florida, Akerman
assisted a client with the development of a hotel that now sits
on a former Brownfield site. In New York, Akerman is currently
helping to redevelop a Brownfield, located along the Hudson
River, as the site for a hotel and conference center that is
expected to meet the standards for USGBC LEED Gold
certification.
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Constellation Energy's Projects & Services Group Awarded
DOE Contract to Improve Energy Efficiency at National Energy
Technology Laboratory
Constellation Energy's Projects & Services Group has been
awarded an energy savings performance contract by the U.S.
Department of Energy. Under the contract, CEPS will install
renewable energy systems and improve overall energy efficiency
at three of DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory sites in
Pittsburgh, PA., Morgantown, W. VA and Albany, OR. The
implementation cost of approximately $6.4 million will be funded
entirely by the nearly $758,000 in annual energy cost savings
realized by the improvements. The project will provide a
showcase of innovative technologies, including biogas boilers,
green roofs, hybrid lighting, advanced metering, solar lighting
and rooftop wind turbines. Overall, the project will reduce
energy consumption at the three NETL sites by more than 23
billion Btu per year and water use by more than three million
gallons a year.
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Siemens Building Technologies Helping City of Houston
Save Energy in City Buildings
Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. is one of two
companies that have been awarded the first phase of a
multi-tiered, demand-side energy management project by the City
of Houston as part of the city's commitment to save energy,
protect the environment and contain operating costs as a
C40/Clinton Climate Initiative partner city. The first phase of
this performance contract has been assigned with Siemens poised
to retrofit some 5,500,000 square feet of city facilities.
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Control Technology and Solutions Begins $4.1 Million,
Multi-Site Expansion Project for Spoon River College
Control Technology and Solutions is partnering with St.
Charles, Mo.-based Project Masters, LLC to build two new
educational facilities for Spoon River College, based in Canton,
Ill. The team will also renovate an 81,000-square-foot building
in Macomb, Ill. to expand the school's campus there. The
combined value of the projects is $4.1 million.
Construction recently began work on the new buildings with a
combined value of $1.9 million - the 5,800-square-foot Havana Center
in Havana and the 4,600-square-foot Rushville Center in Rushville.
Both facilities will feature energy-efficient design and engineering
including: energy-saving windows and lighting fixtures; a web-based
facility management and control system with carbon dioxide
monitoring; and an advanced heating, ventilation and air
conditioning system. Both buildings are slated for completion in May
2009.
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Honeywell Helps School Districts Nationwide Capture More
Than $153 Million in Guaranteed Energy and Operational Savings
Since 2006
Since 2006, Honeywell has helped dozens of U.S. school
districts beat the budget crunch with energy and operational
savings expected to total more than $153 million. Combining all
active performance contracts, the company is helping hundreds of
districts save nearly $372 million.
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Milpitas Unified School District, Chevron Energy Solutions
and Bank of America Announce Completion of 3.4 MW Solar
and Energy Efficiency Project
Milpitas Unified School District, Chevron Energy Solutions
and Bank of America completed a 14-site, district-wide
solar and energy efficiency project designed to supply 75
percent of the district's total annual electricity needs through
solar energy. The 3.4-megawatt solar parking canopies and shade
structures generates what is believed to be the highest
percentage of solar power for any K-12 school district in the
United States and supplies 100 percent of the district's power
during the summer months when California's peak-demand
electricity needs are greatest.
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SAERIS, a Division of Acuity Brands, Launches New
Financing Program for Lighting Renovations
SAERIS, a division of Acuity Brands, Inc. introduced a
new financing program developed to aid building owners in
replacing existing lighting systems with new, energy-efficient
fixtures that improve the work environment and impact the bottom
line. The SAERIS financing program provides total financing for
material and installation services required to do the lighting
renovation.
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AECOM Wins a $15-25 million Contract to Create a
Revenue-Generating Energy Savings Program for Sacramento, CA
AECOM Technology Corporation has been awarded a 3-year
contract with the city of Sacramento to plan, design and realize
an energy efficiency program for the city's building portfolio
and street lighting systems that will make money. Based on the
measures selected by the City, the total contract value could
vary from $15 to $25-million. The program's goals are to save
about $25-million worth of energy and to reduce CO2 by about
30,000 metric tons - the approximate equivalent of taking 44,000
cars off of Sacramento's roads - over the 15-year lifespan of
the implemented measures.
Under the contract, AECOM will identify and rank all feasible
energy efficiency opportunities and recommend energy conservation
measures to not only save energy, but also to upgrade energy and
facility management systems and address some of Sacramento's
$38-million in deferred maintenance items. Another goal is to fund
the creation of the city's first sustainability management position.
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Pepco Energy Services Chosen by State of North Carolina
to Implement Large Energy Savings Performance Contract
Pepco Energy Services has been selected to implement a
comprehensive energy efficiency and guaranteed savings contract
by the North Carolina Department of Administration. The project
will provide the state with over $25 million in guaranteed
savings over the 12-year term. The contract calls for Pepco
Energy Services to improve the energy efficiency of numerous
state government buildings in Raleigh. As part of the
performance contract, Pepco Energy Services will recommission
and expand the downtown district cooling system; provide
improvements to HVAC systems and controls; install energy
efficient lighting systems; and implement water conservation
measures to many government buildings in the State Capitol.
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Eastern Kentucky University Energy Efficiency Project Grows to
$27 Million after Siemens Building Technologies
Identifies New Savings Opportunities
Eastern Kentucky University will be reducing its carbon impact
and its energy bill even more than it anticipated last spring
when the school announced plans to team with Siemens Building
Technologies, Inc., and embark on a comprehensive program
designed to boost the energy efficiency of facilities campus
wide.
After Siemens completed its energy audit of EKU facilities, a
thorough review of its findings with the University's facility
management staff revealed that an additional $5 million in upgrades
to energy-intensive systems would yield significantly higher
savings -- more than enough to cost-justify the now larger, $27 million
investment. The performance-based sustainability project will be
financed by a lease which will be paid back over a 13-year period
from the energy savings guaranteed by Siemens once the system
upgrades are completed.
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Town Replaces Water Meters with Help from TAC
The Town of Woodstock, VA. has completed a $1.2 million
town-wide water meter replacement project, installing more than
1,800 new water meters with automatic meter reading capability.
The new meters will reduce read times and more accurately
measure water usage, which should allow the town to receive more
than $25,000 in additional revenue annually.
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Constellation Energy's Projects & Services Group - Making
a Green Impact in Maryland
Constellation Energy's Projects & Services Group has been
helping Maryland pass some significant environmental milestones.
The ESCO secured enough wind power to help the Laurel, Md.-based
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) become the
largest local government direct purchaser of renewable energy in
the U.S. A 30 megawatt wind farm in Somerset County, Penn. that
generates the power for WSSC was dedicated Feb. 4, 2009.
Constellation Energy Projects & Services also completed
construction of two solar power systems of note in Maryland. A 300
kilowatt photovoltaic system in Millersville made the Maryland
Environmental Service the first state agency to deploy solar, and
the nearly 1 megawatt solar system constructed atop McCormick's
Spice Mill and Distribution Center in Hunt Valley is the largest
solar installation constructed by Constellation Energy in the state.
Altogether, the company has brought five megawatts of solar
installations online for customers throughout the U.S., and is also
active in deploying geothermal and biomass systems for customers in
Maryland and nationwide.
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The City of Glendale, AZ Reaches Lighting Performance Benchmark
with Help from ROAM, a Solution from Acuity Brands
The city of Glendale, AZ selected ROAM to not only assist them
in addressing their current streetlight outage problem, but to
also provide a sustainable lighting management solution that
would continue to identify and reduce outages long past the
initial outage reduction. ROAM is a remote streetlight
monitoring and management solution that pairs a smart photocontrol, capable of diagnosing lighting problems, with
wireless technology to provide increased visibility and
management of outdoor street lighting systems.
ROAM smart photocontrols were installed on 18,500 city street
lights. With the help of ROAM, the city was able to reduce their
system-wide outage/ malfunction percent from 20% to 3%, and recently
reached a performance benchmark of 1.58%. In addition, the city also
realized a reduction in citizen call volume, reducing calls per day
from 20 to approximately three.
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Company News
Control Technology and Solutions Opens Sixth National Office in
Dallas, Texas
St. Louis-based Control Technology and Solutions (CTS) has
opened an office in Dallas. Heading the new office, the sixth
operated by CTS nationally, is Dallas native Roger Thibodeau. The
company opened in 2000 with four employees and employs more than 30
people today. In addition to St. Louis and Dallas, other offices are
in Tulsa, Okla.; Des Moines, Iowa; Chicago, Ill.; and
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
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Ayokunle Kafi Joins AECOM Energy
AECOM Energy welcomed Ayokunle
Kafi to its team in September 2008. Kunle is a veteran of the
ESCO industry, who served in various capacities with Select
Energy Services/Ameresco for 18 years prior to joining AECOM.
Throughout his career, Kunle has had responsibility for
engineering, project management and business development. His
experience encompasses federal, state and local government
facilities of all kinds. Kunle will be serving as the Manager of
Project Development for the East Region for AECOM Energy.
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Akerman Attorneys Among the Few LEED Accredited Professionals
in Virginia
Akerman Senterfitt attorneys Jim Coleman and J.R. Steele have
been named Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Accredited Professionals by the United States Green Building
Council. Coleman and Steele are residents in Akerman's Tysons
Corner office and are two of only six attorneys in the State of
Virginia that are LEED APs. Within the DC Metropolitan Area,
fewer than 30 attorneys have achieved LEED accreditation.
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