FAYETTEVILLE -- The City Council agreed to a contract with a company for energy efficiency upgrades to city buildings and left open the invitation for the city's library and Town Center to join.
The council Aug. 16 voted 8-0 to approve a $4.4 million contract with Johnson Controls of Little Rock to do 84 energy efficiency projects at 47 city buildings as part of the city's energy action plan. The plan, adopted in 2018, aims to reduce energy use and have all city buildings run on clean energy by 2030.
Another goal is to reduce the city's overall carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.
Most of the city's clean energy comes from solar power. A small portion comes from wind and hydroelectric power generated from Southwest Power Pool, the company that manages the electric grid and wholesale power market for the central United States.
Work on city buildings includes replacing air-conditioning units, installing new lights, upgrading energy control systems, putting in new restroom and kitchen features, water conservation measures and improved weatherization. Installing solar panels at the police headquarters under construction at Stephen Carr Memorial Boulevard and Deane Street and the recycling and trash facility on Happy Hollow Road also is included.
The city moved from having its facilities run 16% on clean energy to 72% in 2019 after installing ground-mounted solar panels at its two wastewater treatment plants. The measures outlined in the contract would bring that figure to 75%.
About $1.1 million of the $4.4 million total cost is for "deferred maintenance" or projects that need to happen regardless of energy saving upgrades, said Peter Nierengarten, the city's environmental director. Many of the city's air-conditioning units are close to 20 years old or require refrigerant not readily available on the market.
Some buildings have old lighting systems that need to be replaced, he said. That leaves about $3.3 million in costs for energy saving-specific projects.
Money for the projects will come from the city's reserve fund. The city has access to money from a $3.1 million bond issue for improvements to city facilities, but administrators opted to spend unallocated money from the general fund to avoid interest and administrative expenses associated with borrowing money, said Chief Financial Officer Paul Becker.
He estimated the city will have about $18.7 million left in reserve at the end of the year.
The city estimates the upgrades will have a nearly $4 million return on the investment in 20 years. Of that, about $2.8 million will be legally guaranteed and measured by Johnson Controls over 10 years. The city will continue to measure the energy savings after that.
The return on the investment may be somewhat low -- $4 million over 20 years for about $3.3 million in energy efficiency projects -- but the projects will have benefit beyond the dollars, Nierengarten said. The projects will reduce energy consumption at city-owned buildings by 27% annually, exceeding the 3% annual goal set in the energy action plan.
The city measures its energy output by use of electricity, natural gas and water. Electricity is measured in kilowatt hours, natural gas is measured in hundreds of cubic feat and water is measured in gallons. To compare energy uses across those different types, the city uses scientific conversion rates to put the measurements into millions of British thermal units. A British thermal unit is the amount of heat needed to raise one pound of water at maximum density one degree Fahrenheit.
City facilities generally have used about 60,000 MMBtu annually over the last few years. Once the projects are completed, the city will use about 43,300 MMBtu annually, according to projections from Johnson Controls. The reduction of 16,700 MMBtu is equivalent to about 1,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide sequestered or about 1,660 acres of forest preserved annually, the figures say.
Simply put, the result of the program will be a reduction in carbon emissions and an increase in the amount of clean energy the city buys, Nierengarten said.
"The dollar savings is the gravy on top," he said.
Part of the proposal the council approved allows the city to negotiate deals for energy saving projects with the Fayetteville Public Library and the city's Advertising and Promotion Commission for work at the Fayetteville Town Center. The agreement with Johnson Controls locked in prices for those two entities for 60 days. The library's board and the commission have until mid-October to decide whether they want to participate in the program. The panels have control over the library building and Town Center, respectively.
A project to add a rooftop solar array to the library would cost $624,879. If the library reimbursed the city for the work over 20 years, annual payment would come out to $31,243. David Johnson, the library's director, said the library can't afford it. The library's board discussed the proposal Aug. 15 and agreed.
The library nearly doubled in size after opening its expansion in January 2021. The original portion of the library already has a small solar array on its roof. The expansion is equipped with all the hookups for a solar array, but administrators cut installation from the expansion's construction budget as a cost-saving measure. The library owns its building.
The library's annual budget is about $9 million. Most of the library's money comes from property taxes and sales tax revenue from the city. Voters approved a property tax increase in 2016 to pay for $26.9 million of the expansion's nearly $50 million cost. The library's nonprofit foundation is raising money to cover the rest of the cost, about $23 million.
Johnson said last week the proposal to join the city's energy savings contract is about timing. Estimated annual utility savings with the array would be $18,000 to $24,000, but the library would be paying more than $30,000 every year for 20 years to pay for its cost, he said.
Proposed projects at the Town Center include putting a solar array on its roof, replacing an air-conditioning unit and door and window sealing and insulation. Cost would be $625,160 after applying $110,000 worth of energy grants the city received from the state.
However, the Town Center's roof needs about $250,000 in repair, said Molly Rawn, chief executive officer of Experience Fayetteville, the city's tourism bureau. The Advertising and Promotion Commission governs the bureau. That work needs to be done regardless, but certainly would need to happen before installation of solar panels, she told the commission during its Monday meeting.
The commission leases the Town Center from the city. The agreement has the commission pay for maintenance and repairs for the building.
Reimbursing the city for the energy savings work would cost the commission $62,515 annually over 10 years, or $31,258 annually over 20 years. Rawn told the commission it's possible the project could come out revenue neutral if paid out over 20 years.
Rawn proposed asking the city administration for financial assistance to do the energy savings projects at the Town Center. The city owns the building, plus the city committed to the goals in the energy action plan, she said.
A majority of commissioners agreed to have Rawn discuss the matter with the city and return with more information on the project. Todd Martin, commission chairman, said he wouldn't support the project. He acknowledged the need for energy saving measures to stave off climate change in general, but questioned the financial benefit of solar arrays.
"This is, in my opinion, an incredible waste of money," Martin told the commission. "I just don't see the savings."
Rawn said last week the proposal to participate in the energy savings contract with the city is intriguing. The commission and the bureau are always looking for ways to reduce carbon emissions at the Town Center and other buildings. They have a responsibility, however, to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, she said. The commission receives half of the city's 2% hotel, motel and restaurant sales tax revenue. The other half goes to parks.
"If we can't do this in a way that we can afford, then we are not going to be able to make it work," Rawn said. "But we don't know that yet. It's too soon. There are several discussions yet to be had with the city."
The city plans to take on 84 energy saving measures across 47 city-owned buildings. Work includes:
• 1,681 interior and exterior lighting fixture upgrades across 23 buildings and parks
• 45 air-conditioning units replaced or upgraded
• Energy management control systems upgraded at 11 buildings
• Weatherization and building envelope upgrades such as sealing and caulking windows, doors, weather stripping and insulation at 16 buildings
• Water conservation initiatives including restroom hardware, kitchen equipment, air-conditioning unit mechanical equipment and irrigation at 20 facilities
• Roof-mounted solar arrays at the police headquarters and recycling and trash facility and possibly the Fayetteville Public Library and Town Center.
To see the presentation the City Council received on the energy savings contract with Johnson Controls, Inc., go to: nwaonline.com/828energy/
Print Headline: City to upgrade buildings for energy savings
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