FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION • LIGHTS ON IN TUPELO
Tupelo leadership knew the city had to upgrade its arenas in order to maintain its leadership position in the region, so they decided to embark on a comprehensive facilities improvement project.
Securing funding through energy savings
In addition to growing revenue from sports tourism, the mayoral office was looking to reduce expenses through energy efficiency savings. The city faced high-energy costs, stemming from inefficient controls and lighting systems in its sports facilities and community buildings. But Tupelo did not have the capital available to embark on major renovations that would make impactful improvements in its many community facilities. What’s more, the sporting complexes quickly were becoming obsolete and needed upgrades in order to stay competitive and attract new patrons. The ideal solution would improve energy efficiency in community buildings and update sporting facilities, without requiring significant upfront costs. While it had never been done before in the State of Mississippi, the city decided to pursue an energy savings
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performance contract (ESPC) to assist in funding the project for the City of Tupelo. Tupelo was a good candidate for an ESPC because significant energy savings would be attained from renovations to the sporting fields and community buildings. ESPCs permit education and local, state and federal government institutions to pay for efficiency projects over extended payout periods, which allows a school, city or organization to accrue funds from energy savings over time. Under an ESPC, organizations secure third-party financing from an energy-service company (ESCO) and invest little to no initial capital from their own budgets. The ESCO not only assists in securing upfront funding for energy efficiency improvements, but also guarantees that energy savings will cover the cost of a project. Tupelo had a great opportunity with this renovation project to reinvest utility savings into valuable community improvements.
Understanding existing infrastructure
While Tupelo officials had the progressive idea to obtain an ESPC, this project was the largest and first of its kind in the State of Mississippi – so outside help was needed to ensure the project ran smoothly. The city looked to Schneider Electric, an expert in energy management and automation, to oversee the project. Schneider Electric’s initial step was to perform an energy savings audit of Tupelo’s community buildings. The Schneider Electric team worked closely with local government officials to understand the needs of the community, one of which was a significant improvement to the interior and exterior lighting of sporting facilities. The existing lighting systems were not only outdated, but also had been significantly damaged by a tornado in April 2014. The lighting in place produced inconsistent light levels, leaving portions of field space obscured during evening events. In addition, the parks and recreation department could not manage lights remotely. Oftentimes, on tennis courts and baseball fields, users would turn the lights on and forget to turn them back off, draining the city’s energy resources. In addition, Tupelo had many older buildings that needed to be modernized, weatherproofed and upgraded. Even the newest building, City Hall, had an inefficient and water-wasting HVAC system in place. The government’s IT department also was looking to expand network capabilities throughout the city, and Schneider Electric wanted to leverage that change to further reach Tupelo’s efficiency goals.
COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — MARCH : APRIL 2016