City of Cape May Presents Energy-Savings Improvement Plan

CAPE MAY — Johnson Controls presented an energy-savings improvement plan during the City of Cape May’s Work Session on March 2. Project coordinator Valerie Moran and project engineer Christopher Andrews touched on the scope of the project and the energy-savings plan and analysis during the presentation to City Council.
The City of Cape May has been planning necessary capital improvements for both city facilities and the Cape May Elementary School, and is working with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and Johnson Controls to establish a program that will assist with the cost and installation of the conservation measures.
Items included in the energy-savings project include:
• Building automation system upgrades for City Hall, the library, the Welcome/Transpiration System and the Cape May Elementary School
• Computer power management system
• Emergency generator installation
• Pipe insulation and blankets
• Building envelope upgrades
• LED lighting upgrades for the interior of city buildings as well as the 90 city-owned street lights
• Plug load controls
• Premium efficiency motor upgrades
• Programmable thermostat installation
• Walk-in cooler controls
• Electric vehicle charging station
• Rebates from Demand Response and New Jersey Clean Energy
The City of Cape May will be among the first towns, if not the first, in the state to have full LED street lighting on all city-owned light fixtures, as well as one of the first towns to have an energy-charging station for electric vehicles. The initiative will also partner with the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management program to pay for the installation of an emergency generator and additional HVAC improvements at the elementary school to allow for it to function as a warming center during emergency/severe weather conditions.
The total cost for the energy-conservation measures (ECM) is $860,000; $700,000 for City facilities and $160,000 for Cape May City Elementary School. The total energy savings will be $54,000. The improvements listed are necessary for the ongoing operation of both municipal and school facilities, and the programs offers an assistive option to install the capital improvements and pay for them gradually on an annual basis through the energy savings realized over a 15-year period. Under this approach, there is no down payment needed and the payback does not begin until the project installation has been complete and operation begins.
The City will finance this overall project through a lease agreement with a bank under a low-interest rate of 2.4 percent annually. The school will reimburse the City 40 percent of the lease cost, based upon an expansion of the existing shared-services agreement for the renovation of the indoor swimming pool. The City and school will also receive rebates for prescriptive lighting improvements directly from the NJBPU.
The City’s lease with the bank will be a capital lease, as opposed to an operating lease or bond ordinance. With this approach, the City and school will be able to make the upgrades without incurring principal and interest costs of bonding. The cost will be paid for by the savings in energy over the length of the lease, which is projected for 15 years. At that point, the improvements will be owned by the City and the school. Under the capital leasing approach, payment is avoided and the leasing payments are realized through the energy savings realized.
Moving forward, the next steps to implement the energy-savings improvement plan are:
• Review and authorization from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities of the operating agreement between the City and Johnson Controls.
• Introduction and passage of an ordinance by City Council to approve an operating agreement with Johnson Controls.
• Introduction and passage of an ordinance by City Council to approve a lease agreement with a bank for this project.