LEXINGTON, Ga. – In May, ABM launched an Energy Performance Contracting program for Oglethorpe County Schools in Lexington, with a tailored solution to help generate savings on energy costs and contribute to facility upgrades throughout the county’s school system.

The program is built to provide these facility additions and improvements with no upfront costs, with a projection of more than $9.4 million in energy and operating costs throughout a 20-year period. Now, ABM is bringing this program to another Georgia county.

In June, ABM announced the initiation of an Energy Performance Contracting program for Lowndes County Schools, which is projected to save their schools more than $13.6 million in energy and operating costs over a 15-year period, which the county will use for facility upgrades and funding toward building a new high school.

These energy and operations savings will be accomplished by implementing lighting, HVAC and control upgrades at each of the school system’s facilities. The upgrades are estimated to save Lowndes County Schools approximately $800,000 in energy and operating costs in the first year, which will progress during the lifespan of the program, resulting in the $13.6 million total savings.

“ABM’s Energy Performance Contracting program will help Lowndes County School System recognize its facilities can be functioning more efficiently and create a significant savings, while improving their students’ educational environment,” Mark Newsome, president of ABM Technical Solutions, said in a statement. “By leveraging guaranteed energy and operational savings of ABM’s program, Lowndes County School System will be able to put more funding toward new construction, while upgrading their existing facilities.”

According to the statement, infrastructure at seven of Lowndes County School System’s facilities is aging or coming to the end of its lifespan. Furthermore, the school system plans to demolish and rebuild half of Lowndes High School. The project will allow the school system to distribute additional funding to the high school project, while using the ensured energy savings to fund the other facilities’ upgrades.

The overall upgrades will include retrofitting lighting systems to energy-efficient LED lighting at five of the county’s schools, the Parker Mathis Learning Center, the Board of Education and the bus shop and maintenance buildings. HVAC units at seven different facilities will be rejuvenated and also controlled by state-of-the-art HVAC control systems to maximize energy and operational efficiency. Additionally, refrigeration management programs and high-efficiency hand dryers will be installed at six of the school system’s buildings, along with upgrading ventilation systems at Lowndes County High School and Hahira Middle School.

Ray Jordan, education specialist for ABM explained what energy performance contracting programs mean for schools in the future.

“This program allows school systems to cash flow immediate infrastructure needs with future energy and operational savings. The savings are guaranteed for the life of the program,” said Jordan. “Energy-efficient enhancements can include water conservation systems and hand dryers to help reduce utility costs and product spend, such as paper towels. As technology improves and energy conservation measures increase savings opportunities, more school systems are able to implement these types of programs. Providers that offer energy performance contracting solutions, such as ABM, can help school districts implement similar programs.”

The project launched in June 2018, and is slated for completion in June 2019.

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CCSD hired McKinstry in May of 2016 to perform a district-wide audit of all school facilities to look for energy-saving measures. This audit, paid for by the Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy (GOE) Performance Contract Audit Assistance Program, identified potential improvements that would save the district in utility and operational costs. The planned improvements will allow for more even heating and cooling of classrooms, improvement of overall ventilation, improved light quality and better functioning of equipment with fewer repairs. Among the targeted improvements is the replacement of existing light bulbs with LED technology.

The CCSD operations department is currently tasked with changing nearly every bulb in the district to energy-efficient LED lighting — part of a $6 million undertaking financed through McKinstry, according to Mark Korinek, CCSD operations director, in a recent interview with CarsonNow.org. “The energy side is over $2 million of LED light retrofit at every school in the district,” said Korinek.

The district’s LED upgrade is expected to save 1.4 million kilowatt hours after about 26,000 new bulbs are installed. In addition to updating all light fixtures, the district’s improvements will include water conservation measures meant to reduce waste and usage. McKinstry has estimated that about 4.5 million gallons of water will be saved with the planned upgrades. Additionally, three elementary schools will be receiving trash compactors to help reduce the volume of garbage.

These upgrades are part of a series of improvements that the school has made over the years to improve on energy expenditures and to currently have the lowest energy expenditures of any other public school district in the state, according to The Nevada Department of Education. The school’s current energy-usage rating as measured by the energy usage index (EUI) is 46. The school intends to lower that rating into the thirties, which is “almost unheard of,” according to Korinek.

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Through a program of education sessions, pre-summit training and an expo featuring scores of green products and services, the summit will highlight the wide range of policies, programs, strategies and technologies that are being actively implemented to preserve the state’s natural resources.

The summit will officially open on April 7 and feature keynote speakers; Bob Foster, a former mayor of Long Beach and past president of Southern California Edison who has also served on the Board of Governors for the California Independent Systems Operators, and California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León, who has been at the forefront of vital environmental efforts, co-chairing Proposition 39 and the California Clean Energy Jobs Act.

A series of pre-summit seminars on April 6 will address vital sustainability topics, offering attendees an in-depth briefing on Prop 39 updates, best practices in school efficiency projects and resources for expanding the scope of efficiency projects. This session will feature presentations by stakeholders in all aspects of Prop 39 implementation, including the California Energy Commission, the Division of the State Architect and the California Conservation Corps.

Also on April 6, the Clean Cities Sacramento and East Bay Coalitions will host a day-long Clean Transportation Efficiencies Forum covering strategies for reducing petroleum use, efficiencies gained from alternative fuels and incentives for clean vehicles and infrastructure. A zero net energy (ZNE) workshop for state and local governments, facilitated by the New Buildings Institute with co-sponsorship by Green Technology, in partnership with the California Public Utilities Commission, also will take place April 6.

On April 7 and 8, more than 20 concurrent education sessions will address a range of topics relating to green policy and practice, including codes and standards, water conservation, green schools, funding sources for energy projects plans and sustainable purchasing.

Additionally, the Clean Cities Sacramento and East Bay coalitions are hosting a day of sessions focused on carbon reduction in the transportation sector, including updates on electric vehicles (EV) and EV infrastructure. The Institute for Local Government will present a local government track addressing topics like water, energy, climate and green economic development. The Office of Education and the Environment of CalRecycle will offer training on California’s K-12 environmental literacy curriculum, while a track from USGBC California will cover onsite water re-use, ZNE buildings and more.

The conference also includes an expo April 7-8, featuring more than 100 companies offering green products and services, from lighting solutions and flooring to water conservation technologies.

An opening reception will be hosted on April 6 and the event’s annual Leadership Awards reception will take place on the evening of April 7. The April 8 keynote breakfast featuring State Architect Chet Widom will also be open to all.

For more information about the summit, visit www.green-technology.org.

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