by Brianna Crandall — October 17, 2012—Energy services provider Constellation, a business unit of Exelon Corporation, was recently selected by competitive bid by Ohio University to provide energy efficiency and water conservation measures for 72 buildings at the school’s main campus in Athens, Ohio. The two parties worked out a guaranteed energy performance contract (EPC) for more than $38 million in water and energy cost savings over a 15-year period.
Under terms of the EPC, the upgrades require no upfront capital from the university. Ohio University will use the guaranteed energy and operational savings from the conservation measures to fund the approximately $28 million project through low-interest bonds from the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority.
The arrangement is expected to not only provide significant cost savings for Ohio University, but also to help the institution progress toward achieving the long-term goals outlined in its sustainability and climate action plans. By implementing water and energy conservation measures, Ohio University expects to conserve an estimated 9 million gallons of water and avoid the creation of 50,145 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually over the next 15 years.
The conservation measures installed by Constellation include: campus-wide interior lighting retrofits; air system and tower condition improvements; heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) Direct Digital Controls expansion, upgrade and integration; variable-frequency drive installation on up to four dozen fan motors; kitchen hood improvements; pipe and blanket insulation; retro-commissioning of various building equipment, and water conservation measures.
Work is scheduled for completion by summer of 2014.
A NAESCO-accredited energy services provider, Constellation is a leading competitive retail supplier of power, natural gas and energy products and services for homes and businesses across the continental United States. Constellation says its retail business serves more than 100,000 business and public-sector customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100, and nearly one million residential customers.
Exelon Corporation is reportedly the nation’s largest competitive energy provider, with approximately 35,000 megawatts of owned capacity comprising one of the nation’s cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon has operations and business activities in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Exelon’s utilities deliver electricity and natural gas to more than 6.6 million customers in central Maryland (BGE), northern Illinois (ComEd) and southeastern Pennsylvania (PECO).
