April 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 37

CO NSE rvATI O N

Energy Savings Performance Contracts
ESCOs help agencies update their systems with no up-front costs

ark anD recreation agencies across the coUntrY continue to be challenged with

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delivering the services and programming that their constituents expect. As budgets
continue to shrink, these challenges become more pressing. Agencies with older
recreation facilities are encountering operations and maintenance difficulties. The question
for facility managers becomes how to obtain capital investments to keep facilities up and running in the current budget climate.

One tool that's been employed by park agencies from
Tacoma, Washington, to Chicago, Illinois, is energy savings performance contracts or ESCOs. Many state legislatures have authorized local governments to use ESCOs
and the federal government was authorized to use ESCOs under the Energy Policy Act of 1992. These authorizations provide an alternative funding mechanism for
energy efficiency capital investments in the facilities of
local governments.
Here's how it works. A park agency contracts with an
ESCO company to conduct an investment grade audit of
its facility. Within a recreation facility there are many opportunities for energy efficiency improvements including
variable speed motors for pool pumps, energy efficient
lighting, better heating and cooling systems, insulation,
efficient windows and doors, and systems controls. The
audit provides an agency with a list of energy efficient
improvements, the expected energy reductions, and the
return on investment. Some improvements, such as lighting, may have a short payback period of a few months
to a year while other improvements, such as new heating systems, may have a longer payback period of several years. Once a list of improvements is identified, the
ESCO company then designs and constructs those improvements while guaranteeing the energy savings as a
result of those improvements.
What's unique about this model is the ESCO company
can arrange for the fi nancing of the facility improvements
and receive payment for the improvements through the
utility savings the agency realizes. Thus there are no upfront costs for an agency. Once the improvements have
paid for themselves, the agency will realize the energy
savings. Some agencies, though, may be able to get a better interest rate than the ESCO can through its own financing and thus will self-fi nance.
The Chicago Park District began an ESCO project in
2009, selecting three companies to conduct the work. In

2010, almost 40 facilities received energy efficiency improvements ranging from new heating systems to new
lighting. As part of this work, the Chicago Park District
installed control systems that can be operated remotely.
Previously, building engineers would need to travel from
facility to facility to monitor systems performance. Now,
building engineers can monitor systems remotely, controlling temperatures, checking system performance, and
monitoring energy savings. Remote monitoring not only
helps systems perform but makes building engineers'
time more efficient by reducing travel.
In March, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a
new program called Retrofit Chicago. This program will
aggregate energy efficiency projects across the city and
its sister agencies, tapping into private investment which
will accelerate retrofit projects that would otherwise not
have been possible.
Metro Parks Tacoma (MPT) had an investment grade
energy audit completed in 2010, from which it developed
a program in collaboration with the Washington State
General Administration Agency to utilize a third-party
ESCO company to perform energy-related upgrades to
the majority of MPT's existing facilities. This program has
been a huge success for the district as a great way to
bring existing buildings up to a higher standard, save
the Tacoma taxpayers money, and reduce their overall
carbon footprint.
ESCOs provide agencies with a roadmap to energy efficiency improvements. The process will give well-defi ned projects, concrete energy savings, and enhanced
facilities. Systems will perform better, lighting and heating will be upgraded, and facilities will be more comfortable for staff and citizens alike. Energy efficiency
upgrades ensure agencies reduce their emissions and
carbon footprint while becoming more sustainable.
For more information, see the NRPA Conservation website at www.nrpa.org/conservation.

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April 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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