Client Name: Hamilton County, Ohio
Project Name: Aggregation of Small Municipalities to Enable Efficient Energy Performance Contracting: Owner’s Agent Services in Procurement, Qualification, and Oversight of ESCO Contractors
Project Description:
Hamilton County is located in the southwest corner of Ohio. It is the 3rd most populous county in Ohio with a population over 800,000. Cincinnati is the county seat. In 2009 Hamilton County received $3.4 million dollars in formula EECGB funds to complete performance contracts on municipal buildings in Hamilton County. Many of the county municipalities did not receive EECGB funds due to their small populations. Therefore, the county decided to use a portion of their funds to provide incentives for Hamilton County municipalities to explore and implement energy performance contracts (EPC) on their own buildings.
An EPC provides for the turnkey installation of efficient energy (and water) equipment, along with a guarantee that the savings will pay for the financed cost of the improvements. Services typically include energy auditing, equipment specification and engineering, installation and commissioning of improvements, appropriate operations and maintenance procedures, and monitoring and verification of energy savings.
However, in order to have a viable EPC, the estimated project cost must be at least $500,000 - $1 million. It is challenging for small municipalities to find that much opportunity within their existing building stock. Therefore, aggregating several municipalities can form a viable project and provide some economies of scale for the participating municipalities to improve their building stock and save energy and operating costs. This strategy also attracts ESCOs otherwise not interested in pursuing very small projects.
Hamilton County assembled a team including a Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance (GCEA) representative and a Clean Energy Solutions Inc. (CESI) representative (the “owner’s agent” hired to provide expert guidance throughout the project process). 14 municipalities decided to explore the opportunity.
Through CESI’s owner’s agent services, in conjunction with the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance (GCEA) and the County, each municipality had the opportunity to learn about the EPC process and its benefits and limitations. Concurrent with the outreach and education, the County, with the help of CESI, released an RFP, to select the energy services company (ESCO) to implement the EPC. The RFP received 9 responses from eligible ESCOs. The responses were reviewed by a committee created by the County and CESI to provide guidance on the selection.
Relevant Expertise: Owner’s Agent Services