energy
3POTLIGHT ON 3USTAINABILITY Energy Savings Company (ESCO) Contract In the modern era, saving money by spending it on changes that conserve energy for the long run is a strategy that was hatched during the energy crisis of the late 1970s, but it is being rediscovered now. The first Energy Savings Companies (ESCOs) proposed the idea decades ago that investing in energy saving measures would pay for itself in monthly utility bill reductions. Potential clients were unconvinced, so ESCOs came up with plans that allowed businesses to pay for work they had done by sharing a percentage of their energy savings over a period of time. Energy cost savings turned out to be so significant that ESCO contracts are again being sought out in today’s conservation conscious marketplace. UMass Dartmouth launched an ESCO program with NORESCO of Westborough, MA in 2009. The University and NORESCO have been working together to assess the campus and where
Energy Best Practice
its opportunities are for instituting energy-savings measures. Under the emerging plan, UMass
The Massachusetts Maritime Academy has shown a strong commitment to sustainability, and renewable energy in particular. In 2006 they erected a 660kW Vesta wind turbine, which has been generating over a million kWh per year. They have also acquired an 81kW solar array, and utilize solar-powered lighting for their walkways.
Dartmouth will pay back over 20 years $35 million in improvements to its heating and air
Mass Maritime’s model offers a number of beneficial examples: they show both the economic and environmental viability of renewable energy projects. Their wind turbine cost approximately $1.3 million installed; they received a grant valued at more than $500,000, and they are saving more than $200,000 per year, which implies a payback period of less than five years. And they have carried the lessons learned for their previous projects forward, continuing to develop renewable energy and energy efficiency on campus.
conditioning systems, lighting and environmental controls. The projection is for the University to save approximately 30% of its annual $9 million energy costs. Among the exciting upgrades for UMass Dartmouth are a complete rebuild of the University’s steam plant with a gas-turbine co-generation unit added to capture otherwise lost energy. Furthermore, each campus classroom will be fitted with thermostats and individual heating and cooling controls. While this may not seem particularly cutting-edge, the UMass Dartmouth campus currently has only one energy meter for the entire enterprise, making it impossible to budget or measure individual buildings, never mind subsections of buildings. While making energy cost savings possible on a room-to-room basis, ESCO measures in the works will also eliminate the University’s problems with cold and hot spots. The UMass Dartmouth plan is one of the biggest ever undertaken by a state agency. While not the most progressive or ‘cutting edge’ concept, benchmarking energy use on camps will allow the University to make better informed choices in the future. The results will benefit campus sustainability efforts far into the future.
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