Schneider Electric Selected by General Services Administration for $18.5 Million Building Efficiency Project

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Performance contract to be implemented in 16 federal buildings in Texas will cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 13 percent

DALLAS – August 16, 2010 – Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, has been awarded an $18.5 million energy savings performance contract (ESPC) with the General Services Administration (GSA) Region 7 to improve energy efficiency, operations and comfort in 16 federal buildings in Texas. In December, 2008, Schneider Electric was awarded an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) ESPC from the Department of Energy, making the company one of 16 prequalified energy services companies (ESCOs) of the federal government and thus eligible to compete for the GSA project. The DOE IDIQ contract allows the 16 ESCOs to compete for energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable design and water conservation projects at federally owned buildings and facilities worldwide on a project-by-project basis.

Schneider Electric will design, engineer and implement the upgrades to the 16 facilities involved in the GSA project to provide a comprehensive solution, one which will help the buildings reduce energy use and costs, make use of renewable energy, and guarantee compliance with current laws and regulations such as the requirements laid out in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007). To pay for the project, GSA will invest American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds as well as three years of private-sector financing, in which the money saved from reduced energy consumption will be used to repay the loan.

When the installation is complete in August 2011, Schneider Electric guarantees that the GSA Region 7 will save close to $4.7 million over the duration of the five-year contract and 14% in energy savings, as well as reduce carbon emissions by 7,109 greenhouse gas (GHG) tons per year – equivalent to taking 1,663 cars off the roads annually, or planting 2,456 acres of trees to restore the ecosystem balance.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] The project will significantly help with the GSA’s compliance with EISA 2007 energy reduction requirements, EISA 2007 water reduction requirements, and renewable energy requirements from the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005). Schneider Electric will implement numerous energy conservation measures (ECMs) throughout the 16 facilities’ more than 7.3 million square feet of space to achieve the energy reductions. These include installation of nearly one megawatt of photovoltaic solar panels, boiler replacement, an optimized chilled water system, building automation system upgrades, a data center controls upgrade, an interior lighting fixtures and controls retrofit, and water reduction measures including upgrades to the existing irrigation system controls. Schneider Electric will also integrate the various building automation systems (BAS) throughout the facilities, a key driver of energy reduction. By consolidating control of the BAS to one web server on a common multivendor platform, Schneider Electric will provide GSA with a single operations tool that will allow property managers to collaborate with energy engineering staff members to monitor, schedule, optimize and control the facilities’ energy usage.

Energy savings performance contracting (ESPC) offers many long-term benefits for the federal government, such as improved facility efficiency, occupant comfort, financial management and environmental stewardship. New, more efficient equipment and upgraded facility automation systems will maximize energy efficiency and generate utility savings. Schneider Electric guarantees the amount of savings ESPC projects will achieve and agrees to pay the difference if that amount is not realized.

“We are honored to be chosen to work with the GSA on an initiative that will improve the operations in its buildings and further the GSA’s position as a leader in federal energy efficiency,” said Chris Curtis, President and CEO of Schneider Electric’s Buildings Business. “We’re especially proud to have been able to deliver a program that makes use of traditional building engineering processes and implementation as well as renewable power. In total, the GSA Region 7 facilities will have the capacity to generate over 900 kilowatts of clean, renewable power when this project is complete. Not only will this solution help lower GSA’s risk of rising energy costs, but it also meets current requirements for renewable energy at federal sites.”

Buildings receiving the energy retrofits include Fort Worth Federal Center, Fort Worth Federal Parking Garage, Fort Worth U.S. Courthouse, A. Maceo Smith Federal Building, Terminal Annex Federal Building, Dallas Federal Complex, O.C. Fisher Federal Building and Courthouse, J. Marvin Jones Federal Building, Lubbock Post Office and Federal Building, Austin Federal Courthouse, and Austin Federal Building Complex.

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