According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, approximately one out of every four dollars spent on energy in U.S. schools is wasted; TST BOCES’ Energy Management Service is looking to change that.
Energy costs (heating fuel, electricity and water) costs can total as much as 1.5% to 3.5% of a school district’s annual budget says Mauricio Medina, TST BOCES Energy Management Coordinator.
“Our goal is to provide districts with a dedicated resource to focus on the issue of managing their energy consumption,” says TST BOCES Director of Facilities Services Alwyn John.
That goal has been achieved for many school districts, including the Sandy Creek Central School District who saw a savings of $2.7 million from 2001 to 2009.
Medina and John travel to districts and BOCES working with administrative and facilities teams providing training and tracking of energy consumption and costs as well as facilitating implementation of energy conservation efforts within the district.
Part of the service offering is Energy Performance Contracting (EPC), an energy-related capital project where energy savings generate enough dollars to offset the implementation and management of a project. Many schools are looking at solar EPCs.
The Department of Energy reports that taxpayers spend $6 billion on energy costs for K-12 schools each year, more than what is spent on textbooks and computers combined, and the second highest expenditure after salaries.
“The solution lies in the sun!” said Medina.
TST BOCES works with schools to facilitate the building of their own PV electric power generation plant owned by the school.
Candor Central School District will see a savings of more than $3 million over the course of 25 years since their solar EPC project installation in 2017.
For more information on TST BOCES Energy Management Services and more, visit TSTboces.org/facilities.