Maryland county aims to juice up energy efficiency in its buildings
Prince George’s County in Maryland has inked a deal with Pepco Energy Services that could provide more than $4 million in energy savings for county facilities over the 14-year life of the project.
Under the agreement, Arlington, Va.-based Pepco Energy Services will implement a comprehensive energy-performance contracting program for the county.
The contract calls for Pepco Energy Services to provide high-efficiency lighting and water-conservation measures, the replacement of heating and cooling systems with more efficient designs, and the installation of new energy-management control systems in seven county facilities.
These buildings include the county administration building, Inglewood Center, Largo Government Center, the public works maintenance facility, the RMS Building in Largo, the Hyattsville Justice Center and the central communications facility.
Also included in the Pepco project is an energy-awareness program for building occupants, which aims to promote behavior intended to achieve energy-conservation actions.
“This project will provide Prince George’s County with new resources and infrastructure that will deliver extensive benefits derived from the energy-savings performance contract with Pepco Energy Services,” said Karl Berntson, energy manager for Prince George’s County government.
Construction for the project is underway and is expected to be completed by the spring of 2009.
Prince George’s County is located immediately north, east and south of Washington, D.C. It’s a fast-growing county: The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the county’s 2007 population at 828,770, up from 801,515 in 2000.
Pepco Energy Services has completed energy-savings performance contracts for federal, state and local government entities, including a steam plant decentralization project at Andrews Air Force Base. The company also has developed a 23-megawatt co-generation facility for the National Institutes of Health.
In addition, Pepco is participating in the single-largest energy-savings performance contract ever awarded by the federal government: a project for the Military District of Washington that will produce over $200 million of guaranteed energy savings, according to the company.