Mississippi School Districts Complete Energy Savings Performance Contracts with Schneider Electric

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Holly Springs and New Albany School Districts retrofit for efficiency and improved learning environments
  
DALLAS – January 27, 2014 – Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, announced today the completion of a $2.8 million energy savings performance contract (ESPC) with the New Albany School District in New Albany, Miss. and a $935,000 ESPC with the Holly Springs School District in Holly Springs, Miss. The two projects span 12 facilities and incorporate dozens of efficiency upgrades, including HVAC, lighting, and IT retrofits, saving the New Albany and Holly Springs districts more than $2.4 Million in energy costs over the 15 year partnership.”

“The projects we facilitated for the Mississippi school districts are great success stories, and we hope they pave the way for future projects with other districts in the state who are looking to be more energy efficient, so they can reallocate funds to support much needed educational initiatives,” said Tammy Fulop, vice president of sales, Energy & Sustainability Services at Schneider Electric.

With approval of the MDA (Mississippi Development Authority) the New Albany ESPC, completed in October, sought to provide a better learning environment for the district’s students, while making critical efficiency improvements without raising taxes. The project with Schneider Electric included upgrades to six facilities, with a majority of the work focused on the district’s middle and high schools. Highlights include:

•    Installation of a new district-wide energy management system (EMS), which included 147 new thermostats and 12 new temperature sensors
•    Replacement of the aging boiler system in the high school, as well as two new heating systems to the high school’s auditorium
•    Installation of a new water source pumping system in the middle school
•    Implementation of an IT power management system across the district’s facilities.

The ESPC also included a variety of other improvements, like lighting retrofits for more than 2,500 fixtures and the installation of freezer monitors in the schools’ cafeterias to prevent food loss. In total, the New Albany School District is not only projected to save more than $1 million in annual energy costs, but the environmental impact of these upgrades is the equivalent to taking 414 cars off the road or planting 1,985 trees.

“We are tremendously pleased with the upgrades to the New Albany School District’s facilities, which were so needed to ensure the sustainability of the district and the quality of the learning environment we provide our children,” said Jackie Ford, superintendent of the New Albany School District. “This partnership has served as a starting point for future efficiency projects with Schneider Electric, and we look forward to working with them again.”

Faced with increased budgetary pressures, the Holly Springs School District needed to reduce its operational expenditures while also improving the heating and cooling efficiency in its facilities. Holly Springs School District was able to accomplish both of these goals with the help of Schneider Electric via an ESPC. The primary component of the project was the installation of district-wide direct digital controls (DDC) and EMS. The centralized EMS enables the district to manage all of the HVAC controls throughout the district from one central location, automatically scheduling it to turn on weekday mornings in time to produce a comfortable environment and to turn off at the end of the day, ensuring that no energy is wasted during unoccupied times. This system also aids the maintenance team in proactively identifying potential equipment issues before receiving complaints, resulting in more comfortable facilities.

Schneider Electric also worked with the district to implement lighting retrofits to all of its facilities, most notably the schools’ gyms, which resulted in significant energy savings and improved lighting quality. Completed this spring, the ESPC will generate a 25 percent reduction in Holly Springs’ utility bills, amounting to more than $75,000 annually. Over the 15 year partnership, this savings is expected to amount to more than $1.4 million for the district. In addition to the budgetary savings, the environmental impact of the upgrades is equivalent to eliminating 127 cars from the road or planting 23,700 trees.

“Schneider Electric was a terrific partner throughout the project with Holly Springs School District,” said Adam Andrews, director of operations for Holly Springs School District. “They immediately understood our needs and worked with us to customize upgrades that have made our district more efficient both in terms of energy use and operational expenditures.”

In the past 20 years, Schneider Electric has successfully implemented nearly 500 ESPCs across the nation and helped clients around the world save more than $1 billion. ESPCs help publicly-funded entities make capital improvements over longer payback periods. ESPCs offer many long-term benefits such as improved facility efficiency, occupant comfort, financial management and environmental protection. Typically, new, more efficient equipment and upgraded facility automation systems maximize energy efficiency and generate utility savings.

About The Mississippi Development Authority
The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) is the State of Mississippi’s lead economic and community development agency. Nearly 300 employees are engaged in providing services to businesses, communities and workers in the state. While the agency is best known for its efforts to recruit new businesses to Mississippi, MDA also provides services to promote tourism, help communities improve their quality of place, help existing employers identify and meet opportunities and challenges, and help workers improve their skills – all with the goal of improving the quality of life and economic well-being of Mississippians.

State law gives the Mississippi Development Authority the responsibility to review and approve all Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Energy Shared Savings Contracts between public entities and performance contractors in Mississippi.  ESPCs are rapidly achieving widespread use by governmental agencies because they offer a means for overcoming constrained capital budgets, aging and inefficient buildings and equipment, and limited maintenance staff resources. ESPCs are configured so that energy cost savings pay for associated project costs over the life of the contract, and these cost savings are guaranteed.  For more information, visit MDA’s website. www.mississippi.org

About Schneider Electric
As a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in Utilities & Infrastructure, Industries & Machines Manufacturers, Non-residential Building, Data Centers & Networks and in Residential. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive and green, the company's 140,000 plus employees achieved sales of 30.8 billion US dollars (24 billion euros) in 2012, through an active commitment to help individuals and organizations make the most of their energy.

www.schneider-electric.com/us