by Brianna Crandall — October 3, 2016 — ABM, a provider of facility solutions across the United States and abroad, announced on Friday that Salida Union School District in California will implement comprehensive infrastructure improvements through ABM’s energy performance contracting program.
ABM’s customized solution is projected to save Salida Union School District more than $4.6 million in energy and operating costs over a 20-year period by providing energy-efficiency enhancements and water conservation measures to multiple schools within the district. The projects are scheduled to be finalized in summer 2017.
ABM’s energy performance contracting program is designed as a financial solution to meet clients’ technical facility needs and sustainability goals. For ABM, the goal is to drive costs out of a client’s operating budget, allowing savings to be reallocated to fund mission-critical facility needs.
To avoid burdening local citizens with a tax increase to replace heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems over 25 years old at four elementary schools, and to help the school district quality for California Clean Energy Jobs Act (Proposition 39) funds from the California Energy Commission (CEC), ABM conducted an extensive energy audit and helped the district discover failing equipment and energy efficiency opportunities for multiple schools.
Using this information to create a detailed energy-efficiency plan and project scope, ABM’s team helped the district navigate the CEC’s strict guidelines to successfully obtain a Proposition 39 grant to fund the project, as well as a zero-interest loan through the CEC’s Energy Conservation Assistance Act for Education.
In all, ABM’s customized performance contracting program will provide infrastructure upgrades that are expected to result in estimated annual savings of 925,000 kilowatt-hours of energy; 3,100 therms of natural gas; and 1.9 million gallons of water. This equates to more than $175,000 of utility cost savings per year.
Highlights of the energy-efficiency, water conservation and facility improvements include:
- Replacing 84 HVAC units that were 25+ years old with new, energy-efficient units.
- Installing outside economizers and/or fresh air intakes to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) and reduce the cooling load for Dena Boer Elementary, Mildred Perkins Elementary, Salida Elementary School and Sisk Elementary School.
- Mounting solar photovoltaic energy systems at Salida and Mildred Perkins to provide renewable, emissions-free energy sources, creating energy savings in excess of $46,000 per year.
- Implementing a cool roof restoration at Dena Boer that covers almost 40,000 square feet.
- Upgrading to water-saving equipment at Dena Boer, Mildred Perkins, Salida and Sisk Elementary Schools, Salida Middle School, and the District Office.
View an infographic on how ABM is building value for educational facilities through its energy financing solutions on the company’s Web site.
