EXCLUSIVE by Scottish Energy News
US-owned renewable energy provider Ameresco has completed a £3 million energy savings project at four further education colleges across Scotland.
The project is the first large, multi-site energy performance contract delivered through the Scot-Govt’s Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency Framework – but is a move which will dismay scores of locally-based Scottish renewable energy SME providers.
Ameresco’s UK subsidiary identified savings opportunities through an investment grade proposal and guaranteed the identified savings. Based in Massachusetts, USA. Ameresco is a global giant, with more than 1,000 employees worldwide.
Installations include LED lighting and controls, a combined heat and power system, controls optimisation, variable speed drives and CO2 sensing, natural gas conversion, smart occupancy controls, low flow-taps and showers, building envelope improvements, and transformer tap downs.
These improvements at Edinburgh College, Borders College, Newbattle Abbey College (near Edinburgh) and West Lothian College are expected to save more than £300,000 each year.
Each college is expected to reduce its carbon emissions by an average of 24 percent.
A combination of the Colleges’ existing contractors, select local contractors and national providers were utilized to install the projects. Subcontractors were managed by Ameresco.
Britta MacIntosh, Ameresco’s Vice-President of UK Operations, said: “The success of this project would not have been possible without the collaboration between the college site teams, their senior management and ourselves.
“Our goal was to identify and implement a project that would deliver the most benefit and value to each college based on their unique requirements and the challenging logistics of each site required a true partnership with the colleges.”
22 Feb 2018
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