Pearl River School District to Improve Energy Efficiency

The Pearl River School District has entered into an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) with Ameresco, Inc.

The ESPC is expected to save the district $265,000 per year and $6.4 million over the life of the 18-year-contract, according to a release from Ameresco. The $4.2 milion project will not requre any capitol costs from the district up front.

"In these tight fiscal times, this is a great opportunity to gain greater control of our energy costs while upgrading the energy infrastructure for our schools," said Pearl River Director of  Operations Quinton Van Wynen. "With years of experience providing energy efficiency projects with demonstrated success for other school districts, we are confident Ameresco will deliver significant results as our partner for this project."

Ameresco completed an audit of Pearl River's facilities and has already started installing upgrades in the following areas

• Solar PV System
• Lighting System Improvements
• Lighting Controls
• Exterior Door Replacements
• Water Heater Replacement
• Attic Insulation
• Building Envelopment Improvements
• High Efficiency Transformers
• Integrated Building Management System
• Kitchen Valve Replacements
• Overhead Door Replacements
• PC Load Management
• Pipe and Tank Insulation
• Unit Ventilator Replacements
• Window Replacement

Ameresco guarantees a minimum level of energy savings over the life of the contract to ensure that Pearl River's savings each year exceed its expenses related to the project.

"Our partnership with the Pearl River Union Free School District uses an ESPC to implement a broad array of energy-efficiency measures and deliver cost savings on a budget-neutral basis," said David J. Anderson, Executive Vice President of Ameresco. "We applaud the district for deciding to make these critical energy infrastructure improvements while lowering their operating costs and meeting their sustainability goals by reducing their carbon footprint."

More information on Ameresco is available at www.ameresco.com. For more on their history of working with school districts, go to http://www.ameresco.com/customers/k-12-education.

Ameresco entered into a similar EPSC with the Clarkstown School District in 2003. Clarkstown Director of Business Services Alita Zuber said that Ameresco was able to keep its promises in terms of savings.

"We were able to retrofit some things as a result of the energy-performance contract," Zuber said. "We've done a variety of things to save on energy. We work with them to make sure the energy system is working in an optimal way. It's more the mechanical systems -- retrofitting lights, replacing different equipment and saving money through the mechanical systems.

"We are still in contract with them making sure the work to do what was promised."