ESPN May Be a Sports Fan Fantasy, but ESPC Is a Manufacturer Dream Come True

In a recent Green Manufacturer survey, 88 percent of respondents rated energy efficiency as their no. 1 reason for turning the pages of Green Manufacturer.

Shocker. I thought it was my tantalizing tales and provocative editorials that were the siren song.

As two of our network’s council leaders, Bill Stough of Sustainable Research Group and Aaron Mason of Hawkeye Energy Solutions relayed, stock market investors are projecting electricity costs to rise at 3 to 5% every year for the foreseeable future. “Companies will have to find 3 to 5% efficiencies annually just to stay even,” Mason remarked.

Smart energy management companies like Schneider Electric have taken a bold, proactive approach to the need for energy efficiencies by guaranteeing a prescribed percentage of energy savings in a contractual agreement, called an energy savings performance contract (ESPC).

ESPN may be a sports fan’s fantasy, but for cashed-strapped, energy-guzzling manufacturers seeking to put the brakes on their energy consumption and expenditures, an ESPC is a dream come true.

The way an ESPC works is that the energy manager, in this case, Schneider Electric, evaluates a company’s facility and operations, then formulates an energy savings plan and guarantees that its plan will save X percentage each year. For example, yesterday, Schneider announced a $3 million ESPC with a hospital in Kansas that guarantees a minimum of 31% in energy costs savings and 2,510,008 kWh annually.

The hospital’s retrofits involved:

• Boilers and cooling tower replaced with energy-efficient versions
• Lighting retrofits
• Occupancy sensors installation
• Building automation systems upgrades
• Recomissioning existing electrical equipment and expanding the controls system

Apparently, the ESPC is President Obama’s dream come true, too. Schneider Electric says this is just the type of initiative the Obama administration lauded in its Better Buildings Initiative, “… which aims to support private sector investment in commercial and industrial building energy upgrades to make America’s buildings 20 percent more efficient over the next decade, reducing energy costs for American businesses by nearly $40 billion.”

In this age of uncertainty, rising costs, and climate concerns, what manufacturer wouldn’t want an energy savings guarantee?

For more info about energy savings performance contracts, visit www.schneider-electric.com/us

Got thoughts? I’d love to hear from you.