Minnesota’s Guaranteed Energy Savings Program (GESP) is poised to help the state save a projected $10.8 million annually over the next 15 years.
Established by the Minnesota State Department of Commerce, GESP is a state-led initiative to deliver technical, financial and contractual assistance to state agencies to support the implementation of Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC), which provides upfront project capital that is ultimately repaid by the energy savings generated by the project.
Minnesota established the GESP in 2012 to address the principal barrier preventing state agencies from undertaking energy efficiency projects — lack of upfront financing — and help the state achieve its goal to reduce energy intensity in state-owned buildings by 20 percent by 2020 based on 2010 levels. The program supports state agencies and local governments through every step of the ESPC process, minimizing the perceived risk of an unfamiliar approach to project implementation.
Program staff use the Minnesota Chapter of the Energy Services Coalition (ESC-MN) to help with its outreach efforts and market the benefits of ESPC and the GESP’s advisory services. The state uses three tools to track and report the number of ESPC projects implemented via GESP, the number of buildings retrofitted, the square footage impacted and the number of projects in the pipeline.
Within two years, GESP has built a pipeline of 26 energy efficiency projects impacting more than 550 buildings and 26 million square feet of building space.
Photo of Minnesota State Capitol building via Shutterstock.
