Utility Energy Services Contracts (UESCs)

The emphasis of the group’s support for FEMP’s utility programs is on partnership building and technical assistance.

A few of our ongoing activities:

• Support for the National Park Service’s (NPS’s) Green Energy Parks initiative:
— Training for NPS in using UESCs
— Facilitation of partnerships with utilities to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies
— Participated in value analysis of designs for a new visitor center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

• Developing a working relationship with Tennessee Valley Authority and supporting their partnerships with DOE facilities in the Southeast, rural electrical cooperatives, and natural gas utilities

• Help with project identification and project financing alternatives for agency customers

• Review of UESC proposals and other technical support for agencies implementing UESC projects

Results—Technical Assistance for UESCs
ORNL’s third-party review of a Florida Power and Light UESC proposal was instrumental in NASA Kennedy Space Center’s decision to move forward with a project that will save the federal government over $820,000 annually. The project de-couples 12 facilities from an inefficient central plant by installing 29 individual boilers and 6 water heaters sized to meet space heating, dehumidification, and water heating needs. The project also includes replacement and abandonment of deteriorated or failed infrastructure and the resulting reduction in maintenance requirements, mission risk, and safety risk, as well as future capital outlays.