Schools bullish on performance contracting, solar

Following budget deliberations last week, the School Committee heard a presentation from Johnson Controls on the status of a “performance contracting” plan that would allow the schools to replace the entire heating system in the Rodman building — a $2.2 million project — and pay relatively little upfront.

The project, deemed critical by school business manager Ken Leon, would involve replacing the old steam boiler with an energy-efficient hot water boiler, and replacing all of the pipes as well as all of the heating terminals.

According to the spokesman from Johnson Controls, the company has identified roughly $85,000 in annual energy savings that the schools would use to pay off the project over a period of several years. The savings, however, would not be guaranteed by Johnson Controls.

The spokesman said the work could commence this summer and be completed by the next heating season.

At the request of the school department, the company also investigated the possibility of installing solar panels on the school roofs, and according to the spokesman, that job could also be done quickly and would require no financial commitment from the schools.

He explained that Johnson Controls would install the panels and a third party would operate and maintain them. The schools would then enter into a long-term contract (20 years) with the solar panel operator to purchase electricity at a rate cheaper than they currently pay — saving an estimated $30,000 to $40,000 per year and more than $1.4 million over the life of the contract.

Leon said they would likely bundle the heating project and the solar panels into one performance contract. Despite the risks, committee members seemed optimistic about the proposal and are “very likely” to bring it to annual town meeting, according to Leon.

The committee will conduct a final review on Monday at 6 p.m., just prior to the start of town meeting. Currently, the proposal appears in the warrant under two separate articles: Article 21 for the solar project and Article 23 for performance contracting.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Apr 21 2011. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.