County Buildings: Energy Efficiency and Performance Contracting
The goal of energy performance contracting (EPC) is to reduce energy consumption and costs through the acquisition of comprehensive capital energy improvements. A performance contracting agreement is a practical and economical way for public sector entities to obtain and finance needed capital energy projects for their facilities. These agreements provide an opportunity for agencies to free up scarce budget resources for other needed services and activities.
Energy performance contracting can provide the opportunity to pay for efficiency upgrades to buildings solely from the energy savings from those upgrades. This makes EPC an attractive approach to implementing energy efficiency in government buildings. Therefore, energy efficiency can quickly be incorporated into existing buildings without having to wait for capital money to be procured.
This brief from the National Association of Counties contains an overview of how EPC works, its benefits and how to get started. It also includes several success stories of counties that have utilized this approach to reduce their energy use and save money. It serves as a useful starting point for those unfamiliar with the concept and seeking a basic understanding.
It provides a quick description of the basic concepts of performance contracting and evidence to encourage its consideration. After reviewing this document, you may want to investigate whether your state provides technical assistance or other resources that assist local governments entering into energy savings performance contracts.
