Ameresco Expands Market Share in Ohio with New Energy Efficiency Project
Lorain County Joint Vocational School will save over $4.5 million during a 15-year contract that includes energy conservation measures and infrastructure upgrades.
Ameresco, Inc., a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company, announced that it has entered into an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) project with Lorain County Joint Vocational School (JVS). As part of the contract, the school will leverage Ohio’s landmark energy conversation legislation (HB 264) to implement comprehensive energy conservation measures that are expected to save Lorain County JVS over $314,000 in energy and operational costs annually for the duration of the 15-year contract.
Without having to spend a dollar from its capital budget, the ESPC supports the Lorain County JVS’s efforts to be a good steward of their limited resources and address important facility needs. The project will include improvements to facilities on the district’s 10-acre campus that houses both a Career-Technical High School and an Adult Career Center and serves more than 1,000 students annually. Ameresco guarantees the energy cost savings for the duration of the contract.
“We are pleased that these improvements will reduce our carbon footprint, and the school district is expected to save approximately $26,000 per month in energy and operating costs,” said Jerry Pavlik, Deputy Superintendent of Lorain County Joint Vocational School. “Also, Ameresco is turning this into an excellent student learning opportunity by directly involving our Building Trades students in various phases of the project.”
The ESPC upgrades slated to be performed as part of the Lorain County JVS project will include a comprehensive lighting program, energy management system, HVAC system upgrades, and new green components.
“We are excited to start work on this project with Lorain County Joint Vocational School, which will take advantage of House Bill 264 to address much needed facility upgrades,” said Louis P. Maltezos, Executive Vice President of Ameresco. “By using the budget neutral ESPC model, we will be able to help the school to continue to be good stewards of their taxpayers’ dollars and improve the learning environment for students in their school building while lowering the utility expenditure for Lorain County JVS by more than 30 percent.”
In addition to cost savings, the ESPC will also have environmental benefits to Lorain County by reducing the Joint Vocational School’s carbon footprint by an equivalent of 1,950 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of 382 passenger vehicles or the electricity use of 243 homes in one year.