Energy Efficiency, Energy Procurement, GHG Emissions  -  February 12, 2018

UMD gains $18.3M for energy conservation

The University of Maryland has secured $18.3 million from the Maryland Clean Energy Center (MCEC) for the development of a $21.5 million energy efficiency project. The project will impact eight on-campus buildings.

 According to a report in UMD Right Now, MCEC entered into an energy performance contract with Constellation NewEnergy, Inc. in order to facilitate project construction and secure operating performance guarantees. As part of the Maryland Clean Energy Capital program, MCEC and UMD will develop the project under a joint energy savings agreement, with both organizations sharing the benefit of the cost and consumption reductions.

Program features include LED lighting upgrades, water conservation measures and lab ventilation controls upgrades. It is anticipated that this project will reduce campus-wide energy consumption by approximately 6 percent and yield more than $1.7 million in annual energy savings,

"This performance agreement will help the university to reduce its energy consumption and provide important savings via the various energy conservation measures that will be deployed," said Mary-Ann Ibeziako, the University’s director of engineering & energy. “We are grateful to the MCEC for facilitating the financing of this critical project." 

The project reinforces the University President’s Energy Conservation Initiative, which aims to reduce energy consumption 20 percent from 2015 to 2020. The university is also working on a Climate Action Plan goal of being a carbon-neutral campus by 2050. Activities to date have included implementing large-scale renewable energy projects, offsetting GHG emissions from new construction and university air travel, and promoting more sustainable transportation options to the campus community.

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