Energy Savings Performance Contract

In 2005, Bernhard began working with Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU) campus leadership to transform the energy efficiency and infrastructure of their main Portales campus – ten years later, the university had reduced its Site Energy Use Intensity (EUI) by 38%, carbon footprint by 35%, and cut nearly $1,000,000 a year (42%) from yearly utility spending. ENMU is the most energy efficient, cost-effective, and lowest carbon emitting campus in the state of New Mexico¹.

In 2015, ENMU campus leadership challenged Bernhard to take ENMU to the next level by developing a project that 1) created a positive cash flow (cost savings exceed debt service) in every year of the project, 2) addressed significant campus infrastructure needs, and 3) reduced ENMU’s Site EUI by at least 20% to qualify for Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds. Bernhard responded by developing an Energy Savings Performance Contract that created $55,000 per year in positive cash flow and updated the University’s HVAC, lighting, and water infrastructure systems with $405,000 in guaranteed annual energy savings. This correlates to cost savings of 31%, a 27% reduction in energy consumption, and a 23% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The project earned the University more than $200,000 in energy rebates.

The planning phase of the project began with an exhaustive audit of both the supply-side and demand-side of the campus. Every building on campus was investigated and 45 energy conservation measures, totaling more than $18 million in construction projects, were identified. From the original 45, Bernhard worked with ENMU leadership through an iterative approach to compare each measure to the University’s goals and key objectives. Through this process, ENMU’s leadership chose 20 of the 45 measures to be implemented. Construction began in the fall of 2017, with substantial completion near the end of 2018. Future phases of the project are tentatively scheduled with the aim of making ENMU the first carbon neutral campus in the state of New Mexico.

¹As measured by the Energy, Mineral, and Natural Resources Division (EMNRD) of the State of New Mexico.