FEMP’s mission is to enable federal agencies to meet energy related goals and provide energy leadership to the country. 

To help accomplish this, FEMP provides training and online resources to enable energy managers to maintain, operate, and construct high performance and sustainable facilities.
 
One critical training area is project financing through Energy Savings Performance Contracts – or ESPCs – which allow federal agencies to complete energy-savings projects without up-front capital costs and special Congressional appropriations. Let’s take a look at how FEMP training enabled one agency to initiate and complete a successful project.

Reliable. Vigilant. Committed to excellence. 

The Northern California Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility, or TRACON, is responsible for watching over airspace at one of the largest air traffic control facilities in the world. 

With a responsibility like this, who would know that this facility has reduced its energy use by 61% a year?

The key to FAA’s success has been a $9 million, 20-year Energy Savings Performance Contract that generates over $340,000 in annual savings. These savings are then used to pay for all infrastructure improvements over the life of the contact.

The FAA team was able to achieve this level of success because they took advantage of the many services and training opportunities offered by FEMP. 

One key player in this successful ESPC project was energy champion Brad Cantrell.

Our facility, the Northern California TRACON, or NCT, is located in the southeast corner of Sacramento. Having 30 acres on the campus with only 19 of it improved gave us a lot of latitude for exploring new creative ways to enhance the requirements and the needs of the facility.

When we learned about FEMP and all of the wonderful programs that they have including the optional teaching, the online teaching, the onsite teaching for ESPCs, we quickly realized that we needed to be a part of that. And when we reached out to the folks at FEMP, they were eager and helpful to provide resources to us that essentially we were unaware of.
 
Taking advantage of FEMP training, and working with FEMP Project Executives, FAA TRACON formed a six-member team from various departments to develop the Notice of Opportunity to alert qualifying Energy Services Companies, or ESCOs, about the project. 

The ESCO that we selected for our ESPC had always displayed a level of commitment that allowed flexibility and partnering early on.

And by doing that they invited us to be part of the process. Rather than treat us like a customer we were treated like a partner.

First the team was able to lock in guaranteed utility incentives and low rates that avoided $1.8 million in upfront agency costs.  Next, the team invited all building occupants to join in the discussion of potential ECMs to improve their working environment and the sustainability of the campus.  

The ECMs selected include photovoltaic panels and electric charging stations, energy efficient indoor and outdoor lighting, low-water landscaping, and upgrades to the facility’s controls and HVAC systems  – all of which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent.

Once the ECMs were installed, the ESCO began the process of regularly scheduled measurement and verification, or M&V, which will last for the duration of the contract.

The M&V process is crucial to the success of the performance of the project. The M&V allows you not only to prove that the savings are fully realized at the agency level and at the facility level, we exceeded somewhere in the neighborhood of 12% of additional savings that saves us both labor, material, and commodities in our project. 

I would encourage anyone that has a concept or a vision to begin discussions and reach out to FEMP and find ways to foster those into what becomes an ESPC success story.

Developing an EPSC project that saves $340,000 a year is a significant accomplishment.  Let FEMP help you realize similar results at your site.