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NORESCO Selected by Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to Improve Energy Efficiency at Kutztown University

BUSINESS WIRE, November 18, 2008 – WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NORESCO, a global leader in guaranteed energy savings programs and on-site energy management, has been chosen by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) to implement $5.9 million in energy and building system upgrades at Kutztown University (KU) in Kutztown, PA. Key benefits of the project are improved energy and water efficiency, reduced energy and operating costs, greater system reliability, and improved working, living, and learning conditions for building occupants.

Developed as a guaranteed energy savings agreement, the project will be funded by guaranteed cost savings over a 15-year term. This self-funding mechanism reduces the level of capital appropriations needed to pay for energy infrastructure improvements. Annual cost savings at KU will exceed $700,000.

The project will produce environmental as well as cost control benefits. Emissions of carbon dioxide, a widely recognized contributor to global climate change, are expected to drop by close to 5.5 million pounds each year. This is equivalent to removing more than 1,000 cars from the road or planting almost 1,300 acres of trees.

“With sixteen different energy conservation measures in the Kutztown contract, the project is ideally suited to a guaranteed energy services agreement,” said Randy Clark, Vice President and General Manager for NORESCO. “Upgrades such as plumbing fixture replacements and energy management system modifications which pay for themselves more quickly will help pay for longer-term needs, such as new dormitory windows and a new roof for the Keystone Field House.”

The project also includes measures that demonstrate KU’s commitment to sustainable energy and student involvement. A new solar pool heating system will use 80 solar collectors to augment the existing gas boiler system.

NORESCO implemented a proprietary awareness, communication, and sustainability program, Energy Conservation Through Behavior ChangeSM, for students in the Beck Hall dormitory in 2007. With Berks Hall as a study control group for comparison, the pilot showed substantial reductions in water and electricity consumption at Beck Hall. Utility savings continued even after students at Beck were informed that the study was over, demonstrating the persistence of energy conservation awareness and associated behaviors. Under NORESCO’s leadership, the program was expanded to the general campus community and all KU residential students this fall.

Even with the broad mix of innovative conservation programs and extensive traditional upgrades, the KU project will generate savings that can fund new infrastructure growth and a full-time energy manager position at the university. Details for the additional infrastructure remain under study, but excess cash flow from the KU guaranteed energy services agreement could be used to help finance campus-wide electrical, HVAC, and utility submetering improvements.

NORESCO is one of the largest U.S. energy service companies specializing in the development, design, construction, financing, and operation of energy and environmental efficiency projects, performance contracting, and central energy plants. Its clients include various departments of the U.S. government, public housing agencies, school districts, universities, state and local governments, and industrial and commercial businesses. Over the past two decades, NORESCO has implemented more than $2.5 billion in energy projects at more than 2,000 sites throughout the U.S. and abroad.

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