The General Services Administration has awarded more than $191 million worth of energy savings performance contracts for nearly 100 buildings as part of its contribution to the Better Buildings Challenge. The GSA says its efforts so far will cut energy use in the facilities by 38 percent.
ESPCs allow the government to pay energy service companies from the energy efficiency savings over a period of time.
GSA says the following are examples of some federal buildings saving energy with performance contracts:
- Four Chicago federal buildings will be able to meet energy reduction goals including, chiller plant and boiler plant improvements for the Chicago Federal Center; controls system upgrades at three sites; and HVAC and air handling upgrades at the Everett M. Dirksen US Courthouse. When complete in 2016, GSA anticipates that it will realize $2.5 million in annual energy savings. The total project investment is $53 million, which is GSA’s largest ESPC project in the country.
- At the Almeric Christian Federal Building and Courthouse in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, a construction contract valued at over $6 million, the contractor identified nine projects with the focal point being a 462 KW solar array that can save the government about $509,000 each year. The total energy reduction at this site has the potential to reach 100 percent, which would make it a net zero location.
