Stamford to launch state’s first massive energy-efficiency plan
Stamford Advocate, June 14, 2016
The city will become the first in the state to launch a large-scale energy-efficiency plan that officials estimate could save as much as $1 million a year.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy joined Mayor David Martin on Tuesday at the Government Center to announce Stamford’s three-year deal with Eversource for efficiency upgrades in city buildings.
ConEd Solutions, of Valhalla, N.Y., has been hired to implement up to $16 million in upgrades at 15 city school buildings and the Government Center. The agreement commits Stamford to reducing electricity usage by 12 percent and lower its reliance on natural gas by 6 percent by the end of 2018, with plans to cut energy use in half by 2030.
Achieving the goals would amount to powering 714 homes for a year or emitting 3,900 fewer tons of carbon dioxide, according to a press release about the deal.
Stamford Economic Development Director Thomas Madden said the city would finance the project by issuing bonds or use tax-exempt lease purchase financing, which allows municipalities to spend money they expect to save from future operating budgets to pay off debt.
Under the agreement, Eversource will credit Stamford with the energy savings the improvements create allowing the city to use the money to pay back the loans, Madden said, minimizing the impact on taxpayers.