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Energy savings performance contracts and onsite generation technologies offer K-12 school districts a strategy to combat escalating energy costs, said Louis Maltezos, co-president of energy infrastructure company Ameresco.
K-12 school districts spend nearly $8 billion annually on energy costs, the second largest expense after teacher salaries, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings and Better Plants initiative. Those costs are poised to increase, with the average residential electricity price jumping 10.2% year over year to 18.8 cents/kWh in March, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Meanwhile, more than 30% of schools’ energy use is wasted, according to Energy Star. With the installation of efficiency measures, though, schools can save on average 10% of their costs, according to the federal program. An energy-efficient school district with 4,000 students can aim to save $160,000 in annual costs, DOE’s Building Technologies Program said in February.
Even in parts of the country less impacted by rising energy costs, like the Pacific Northwest, where a large percentage of energy is from renewable resources, higher costs are likely coming, Maltezos said in an interview. “They’re all going to see it over the next couple of years,” he said. Maltezos leads Ameresco’s smart energy and building infrastructure strategies. He also oversees the company’s unified non-federal U.S. project organization, smart building solutions and Ameresco Canada.
