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ABM, a provider of facility solutions, has initiated a comprehensive energy performance contracting program for Georgia's McIntosh County Board of Education. ABM's customized solution is projected to save McIntosh County Board of Education more than $20.9 million in energy and operating costs over a 20-year period. The project launched last December and is scheduled for completion by December 2017.
"ABM is very excited to help the McIntosh County Board of Education implement an energy performance solution that will benefit multiple schools and administrative offices in the district. This project will positively impact virtually every student and teacher in the school system through a variety of outside-the-box, cost-cutting energy and operations measures," said Mark Newsome, President of ABM Technical Solutions.
Energy and operations savings will be achieved by implementing energy-efficient infrastructure upgrades to multiple facilities in the district.
"We are eager to implement this energy performance project with ABM," said Dr. John Barge, Superintendent for McIntosh County Schools. "It would not have been possible for our County to afford the infrastructure improvements our schools desperately needed without the financial structure of ABM's program. Not only will we able to provide our students a better, more-comfortable learning environment within a year, the program also captures operational savings to provide additional benefits to our school including playgrounds and covered waiting areas at our new elementary school."
ABM's Energy Performance Contracting program enabled the school system to finance the replacement of its aging infrastructure. The program is designed as a financial solution to meet clients' technical facility needs and sustainability goals. The goal is to drive costs out of a client's operating budget, allowing savings to be reallocated to fund mission critical facility needs.
By monitoring energy use, inspecting facility equipment and interviewing key school personnel, ABM identified the school system's major infrastructure challenges and opportunities for cost-cutting, energy-efficiency improvements. Together, with the McIntosh County Board of Education, ABM created a plan to provide infrastructure and operations upgrades that will reduce overall operations costs by $20.9 million over a 20-year period. This provides general fund relief to implement additional, beneficial infrastructure improvements. The project is expected to achieve more than $263,000 worth of savings in its first year alone.
Highlights of the energy-efficiency and facility improvements planned for Todd Grant Elementary School, McIntosh County Academy, McIntosh County Middle School and the McIntosh County Board of Education and Maintenance Offices include:
• All HVAC units at McIntosh County Academy and a significant number of units at other facilities in need of replacement will be upgraded to high-efficiency, state-of-the-art HVAC units.
• All district HVAC units will be controlled by advanced, web-based direct digital control (DDC) systems to maximize energy and operational efficiency.
• The Todd Grant Elementary School campus will receive two complete, age-appropriate playgrounds and a covered outdoor classroom area. Three additional buildings on this campus will be renovated and expanded to serve as the administrative complex for the school district and the historic Richard J. Reynolds Gymnasium will be renovated and re-designed to match the design of the new elementary school.
• Irrigation wells will be installed at Todd Grant Elementary School, McIntosh Middle School, and McIntosh County Academy to provide a more cost-efficient means of irrigating the campus and athletic fields.
• All restrooms at McIntosh County Middle School will be renovated and aging roofs of two buildings will be replaced.