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Erie County energy performance contract identifies millions in energy savings

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Tue, Nov 19th 2019 04:20 pm

Audit of county facilities identifies over 100 energy-saving actions projected to create millions in energy savings

The Erie County Department of Public Works has announced the approval of a county energy performance contract designed to drive energy-efficiency improvements in Erie County facilities. The EPC is the end result of a project designed to select a group of facility improvement measures that will pay for themselves through energy savings in 39 years or less.

Erie County has created a portfolio of 109 projects across 23 locations that will pay for themselves, through energy savings and utility incentives, in less than 13 years. The total cost of the project is just over $7 million and the project will generate $417,000 in savings annually while reducing the amount of CO2 the county produces by 8 million pounds.

“The energy performance contract is the result of more than a year of work, evaluating county facilities and their energy usage while also investigating ways to increase energy efficiency and save money. The results of that work are very encouraging and provide a blueprint for the county to move forward,” Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said. “We will be reducing our energy usage and maximizing efficiency at facilities countywide, creating significant guaranteed savings as these improvements more than pay for themselves in coming years. When adding in the benefit from reduced greenhouse gas emissions, it’s easy to see that this is a tremendous investment that will continue our commitment to addressing the issue of climate change.”

Facilities identified for improvements include:

•Jesse Nash Health Center (608 William St.) – This building is receiving LED lighting upgrades (interior and exterior), building envelope improvements, and a heating and cooling system redesign that will provide more efficient heating/cooling and better control in each area. ($1,807,182)

•120/134 West Eagle St. – Interior LED upgrade with occupancy controls, advanced heating and ventilation controls for more efficient heating and cooling ($237,962)

•Holding Center – Interior LED upgrade, building envelope improvements and insulation work, adding controls to the chiller and the kitchen ventilation to save on heating/cooling costs. ($560,118)

•10 Delaware (sheriff’s offices) – Interior and exterior LED lighting upgrade, building envelope improvements ($12,092)

•Edward A. Rath Building – Building envelope improvements, chiller plant optimization, controls on various heating/cooling equipment to optimize efficiency ($593,915)

•Fire training academy – Interior and exterior LED lighting upgrades, replacement of rooftop HVAC units, building envelope improvements and upgraded controls to heating and cooling equipment ($292,629)

•Youth detention – Interior and exterior LED lighting upgrades, building envelope improvements, ventilation controls to reduce heat/cool loss and increase energy efficiency ($256,628)

•Family Court – Building envelope improvements, adding controls to ventilation and heating equipment to improve energy efficiency ($43,734)

•Public safety campus – Interior and exterior LED lighting upgrades, building envelope improvements ($429,275)

•Correctional Facility – Interior and exterior LED lighting upgrades, building envelope improvements, adding controls to ventilation and heating equipment ($589,005)

•Law Library – Interior LED lighting upgrades, replacement of rooftop HVAC units, building envelope improvements, ventilation controls ($289,221)

•Old County Hall – Interior LED retrofit and occupancy controls, upgraded airflow damper to control ventilation ($401,649)

•Health Mall (1500 Broadway) – Building envelope improvements, building controls to heating equipment and some insulation work ($37,458)

•Erie County Court annex (25 Delaware) – Interior LED lighting retrofit, installation of high-efficiency condensing boilers, building envelope improvements and insulation work, and building controls to heating equipment ($948,383)

•Chestnut Ridge campus – Interior and exterior LED lighting upgrades to several buildings (including the casino), building envelope improvements to several buildings, upgrade boilers in maintenance shop and park office, upgrading thermostats ($201,373)

The Department of Public Works will invest nearly $400,000 in improvements at county highway barns to improve energy performance. At the Aurora Barn, improvements will include LED lighting upgrades interior and exterior, ventilation controls, and building envelope improvements (weather-sealing doors and windows); at the Harlem Barn, improvements will include LED lighting upgrades interior and exterior, pipe insulation, and building envelope improvements; upgrades at the Concord Barn include LED lighting upgrades interior/exterior, pipe insulation, building envelope improvements, and hot water controls; improvements at the Hamburg Barn include LED lighting upgrades exterior, pipe insulation and building envelope improvements. Angola, Collins, South Protection and Tonawanda are scheduled for LED exterior lighting upgrades. Totaling $391,135 in improvements scheduled through the energy performance contract, these improvements will pay for themselves through the energy savings in 13.36 years.

For more information on the Erie County Department of Public Works, visit http://www2.erie.gov/dpw/.

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