City of Denver
The City and County of Denver this week entered into its first-ever energy performance contract (EPC) with Ameresco, Inc., an Energy Service Company (ESCO) pre-qualified by the Colorado Energy Office. Ameresco was pre-qualified by the Colorado Energy Office and Denver selected the energy service provider for the City’s first-ever EPC. Under an EPC, an energy service provider implements energy and infrastructure upgrade improvements to a building or group of buildings and guarantees projected energy savings through a highly regulated measurement and verification process. Any projected savings that are not attained are covered by the provider.
Denver’s EPC includes 88 energy efficiency improvements to 14 of the city’s most energy intensive buildings, including four recreation centers, four libraries, three fire stations, and the 911 Call Center. These improvements are guaranteed to create energy savings averaging 17 percent for all 14 buildings, with four of the buildings expected to cut their energy use by over 30 percent. Through these improvements, the city is guaranteed to save over $2.4 million in the first 15 years. The city will begin realizing savings within the first year. Strategic Initiatives Director, Dionne Williams, will oversee the EPC for the city.
“This contract is a guaranteed way for the City to make progress toward its 2020 Sustainability Goals while incurring none of the risk,” said Denver’s Executive Director of General Services, Adrienne Benavidez. Denver’s 2020 Sustainability Goals include a goal of reducing energy consumed by City-operated buildings and vehicles by 20%. Dionne Williams, the Director of the Strategic Initiatives Division, will oversee implementation of the contract for the City.
Ameresco will implement various energy improvements to a building or group of buildings and guarantees projected energy savings through a highly regulated measurement and verification process. Any projected savings that are not attained are covered by the vendor. “Ameresco is delighted to be a partner in this first energy performance contracting project undertaken by the City and County of Denver, and believes that this project will contribute measurably to CCD’s efficiency and sustainability goals,” said Shawn McMillin, Senior Account Executive for Ameresco, Inc.
Targeting some of the city’s biggest energy users for efficiency improvements will help Denver move closer to achieving its 2020 energy goals reduce utility and maintenance costs and improve the comfort of city facilities.
EPCs have been used as a strategy for improving energy efficiency for more than 30 years, and there are currently more than 29 municipalities in Colorado that have executed an EPC.
About Denver’s Strategic Initiatives Division
Strategic Initiatives (SI) is a division of General Services (GS) responsible for the development, management and administration of energy efficiency programs, ensuring the continued sustainability of those programs, and the Records Management program for the city. SI manages the City’s utilities and monitors progress related to the Government Buildings metrics as part of the Mayor’s 2020 Sustainability Goals. SI also manages the Better Buildings Challenge initiative through the US Department of Energy, which has a goal of reducing energy usage in participating buildings by 20% over 2011 levels by 2020.