The US General Services Administration has awarded Schneider Electric a $6.4 million Energy Savings Performance Contract for the Almeric Christian Federal Building in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.
As part of GSA’s Deep Retrofit Challenge, this project will install energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy systems at the St. Croix site, making it one of the first federal buildings to achieve 100 percent net zero energy through an ESPC.
The ESPC for the three-story, 57,872 square foot Almeric Christian Federal Building guarantees a total of over $13 million in energy savings through a combination of energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy production, which will improve the entire building infrastructure without appropriated funds. Savings in the first year of the 19-year contract will amount to over $500,000.
As part of the contract, Schneider Electric is helping the GSA site in St. Croix manage challenges unique to the remote, tropical location, such as the high cost of electricity on the island. In addition to controlling rising utility costs, the performance contract will allow for remote reporting of sub-meter data, exposure of the building’s data to a third party analytics platform and the elimination of transformer flooding issues due to surface storm water. Specific energy conservation measures Schneider Electric is implementing include:
- Chilled water system upgrades (chiller replacements, pump replacements)
- Building Automation System upgrades, including optimization, sub-metering integration and modifications to comply with GSA’s Smart Buildings Design and Implementation Guidelines and to work with GSALink analytics platform. Smart Building Integration and Energy Dashboard
- Interior and exterior lighting improvements
- Air Handling Unit replacement
- Variable volume chilled water distribution
- Solar Photovoltaics
- Transformer replacement
- Retro-commissioning
Earlier this month Schneider Electric announced the availability of the Data Center Certified Associate certification program through its online Energy University. The DCCA certification program provides data center professionals with exposure to current and emerging industry trends and practices that improve their professional credentials and credibility.