Leadership
GESPC has enjoyed strong bipartisan support in Delaware. The state's Energy Performance Contracting Act (Title 29, Chapter 69, Sub-Chapter V), which conforms with the state's procurement rules, was last amended in 2005 by a vote of 39-0 in the Delaware House, and 20-0 in the Delaware Senate.
Every single member of the Delaware General Assembly understood that the benefits of this procurement method can produce immediate and long-term savings. They recognized that this Act would stimulate economic activity in cities big and small because the need for facility modernization in state and local government facilities is great. To their credit, two years later, in 2007, they created the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) whose single purpose is to deliver clean energy efficiency and renewable energy services that can provide tax-exempt capital for public agencies to replace failing and inefficient equipment in aging buildings.
Delaware has one state statute that covers GESPC in all four sectors (state, municipalities, universities, k-12). The statute allows for contracts up to 20 years in length and for all measures that pay for themselves in energy savings alone, including water savings, renewables, behavioral training and for the use of capital funds to be added as a buydown.
Delaware also allows the end-user to retain excess savings in their department budget and provides a requirement for an annual savings guarantee that meets or exceeds the total annual contract payment. The state’s statute requires an annual report on the cost savings.
Program
Delaware’s GESPC Program Administrator has many other responsibilities in addition to oversight and administration of the state’s energy performance contracting program; however, the state program is supported by an outside third-party skilled in GESPC project management.
Delaware uses a set of standardized instruments for GESPC projects in state facilities. The standardized instruments were approved by the appropriate legal, finance and procurement authorities in the state. These instruments are posted on a publicly available website.
The state also has an informational guidebook for Energy Savings Performance Contracts.
The state benchmarks energy consumption in state facilities and tracks the energy consumption annually, comparing changes over time against the benchmark data and reports on these differences. In addition to benchmarking state facilities, all GESPC projects are tracked for numerous data inputs including projected savings, guaranteed savings amount and annual greenhouse gas emissions avoided by each project.
To date, more than $125 million in energy savings projects have been implemented in Delaware as a result of a GESPC.
- In 2015, Glasgow High School and Gauger-Cobbs Middle School entered into a $5 million performance contracts in partnership with the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility in an effort to achieve the governor's energy efficiency goals.
- In 2015, the City of Dover saved more than $341,079 from energy efficiency measures that were implemented as part of an energy performance contract. The savings exceeded projections by about $3,800.
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In 2015 the Christiana School District entered into an energy performance contract, financed by a low-interest loan from the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility. Glasgow High School and Gauger-Cobbs Middle School are benefitting from $5 million in comprehensive upgrades that are guaranteed to pay for themselves through energy savings.
“We were very impressed with the seamlessness and simplicity of the process,” said Demeter Picciotti, Facilities Services Manager for the Christiana School District. “A recent American Federation of Teachers study on green schools revealed that sustainable educational institutions have 5 to 17 percent higher student achievement levels. Coupled with $7 million in guaranteed energy savings, this is a win-win for everyone.”
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In 2016, the Delaware Army National Guard utilized the GESPC program to implement $4.5 million in energy efficiency and renewable energy capital improvements at its facilities statewide.
“This is a win-win for everyone. The sheer size of our facility and our annual energy usage is enormous,” said General Francis D. Vavala, Delaware National Guard. “The capital improvements to the base facilities will save us millions over time. The DESEU has structured the terms of the loan to make it extremely attractive
Chapter
On October 4, 2012, Delaware became the 28th ESC State Chapter when it hosted its first Chapter meeting with more than 30 people in attendance. Since that time, the State of Delaware and the Delaware ESC Chapter have partnered to ensure that GESPC reduces the strain on taxes and supports a healthy environment for Delawareans. The public/private partnership promotes solutions to failing and inefficient equipment in aging public buildings to reduce utility costs and energy and water consumption.
The Delaware ESC Chapter is known for its outreach and education efforts and events. In 2014, the Chapter held its first Delaware Energy Conference in Wilmington. The conference, with a focus on GESPC, has become an annual event and highlights past successes and looks ahead to future opportunities for renewable energy and energy efficiency project development in the state.
To date, more than $125 million in energy savings projects have been implemented in Delaware as a result of a GESPC.