Environmental Leader

Lime Energy has received three contracts, worth close to $29 million, to make the United States Postal Service (USPS) facilities on the East Coast more energy efficient as part of the federal agency’s goal to reduce energy use 30 percent by 2015.

In 2009, the Postal Service’s energy efficiency efforts  saved $3 million and nearly 100 million kilowatts of electricity.

Under the new contract, Lime Energy will evaluate postal facilities in seven regions for energy-efficiency projects. Regions include Southern New Jersey and Delaware, Philadelphia, District Columbia, Eastern Maryland, Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, Northern Virginia, Greater Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The contracts provide a fast-track process for design and implementation of more than 1,800 pre-determined energy-efficiency items. Once approved by the USPS, Lime will perform surveys, develop energy solutions, and install new energy-efficient lighting and mechanical equipment.

The three contracts are worth $28.5 million, accounting for the potential of four one-year renewals under each contract, according to Lime Energy. There is no minimum purchase requirement under any of these contracts.

Lime Energy has completed about $30 million in projects for the Postal Service over the past six years.

As an example, Lime’s energy-efficient upgrades at the Van Nuys Federal Building & Post Office garnered an annual energy savings of 1,238,998 KWh, which translates into an annual dollar savings of $125,580. Some of the benefits include a reduction in lighting expense by up to 70 percent and improved lighting levels of 10 to 50 percent.