Overhaul of HACC’s Infrastructure to Reap $15 Million in Energy Savings
HACC, PennSEF and Schneider Electric develop 15-year project
Harrisburg, PA - Conservation, renewable energy use and updated infrastructure are anticipated to reap $15 million in savings over 15 years for HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College.
Funding for the estimated $12.6-million project comes from a Pennsylvania sustainable energy program guaranteed savings agreement with Schneider Electric and is guaranteed to produce more than $13.5 million in energy savings over the next 15 years. HACC will also realize a minimum of $1.6 million in added savings through a solar power purchase agreement.
The project will modernize HACC’s critical infrastructure with energy-efficient, sustainable technologies and optimize learning environments. Schneider Electric will address HACC’s maintenance backlog and modernize campus buildings, many of which were built in the 1960s. Improvements will include a comprehensive light-emitting diode (LED) lighting retrofit; heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades; water conservation systems; and building automation. The project started April 1 and will be completed over the next 18 to 24 months.
HACC has tasked Schneider Electric with administering a request for proposals to select a vendor for the solar purchase power agreement. After selection, Schneider Electric will continue to work with HACC to ensure smooth implementation and alignment with the overall facility improvement plans.
“Since funding for capital improvements is usually challenged, this guarantee will afford us an opportunity to make large scale facility improvements that save energy and money without any upfront costs. The implementation of this project addresses the need to modernize our aging infrastructure to create a better learning environment for our HACC community and brings us closer to our long-term sustainability goals.”
HACC President and CEO, John J. “Ski” Sygielski, MBA, Ed.D.
“HACC’s initiative to prioritize sustainability creates a foundational path to improve learning outcomes for students. We are proud to add our work with HACC to our growing portfolio of higher education facilities serviced across the country.”
Schneider Electric’s Vice President of Sales, Tammy Tolle
HACC was supported in developing and gaining approval of this project by the Pennsylvania Sustainable Energy Finance Program (PennSEF), a partnership between the Pennsylvania Treasury Department and the Foundation for Renewable Energy and Environment (FREE).
“This is a great project, and both HACC and Schneider Electric deserve to be recognized for their leadership in using conservation and renewable energy to cut costs. PennSEF projects are a fantastic way for nonprofits and government agencies, including counties, school districts and municipalities, to receive guaranteed savings while conserving energy and water. Treasury’s partnership with FREE to create PennSEF can benefit entities all across Pennsylvania. I hope many others will follow HACC’s lead.”
Pennsylvania Treasurer, Stacy Garrity
PennSEF advises interested nonprofit and governmental entities to develop prudent, market-based projects that promote energy and water efficiency, clean energy generation, economic development and environmental improvement. PennSEF provided legal, technical and analytical assistance throughout the planning of the HACC project, using its expertise to support the College’s efforts to realize improvements for its campuses, and helped negotiate a contract that ensures the resulting savings will pay for the total cost of the technology upgrade.
John Byrne, Ph.D., FREE’s president and chairman, applauded HACC’s launch of this triple bottom-line project that:
- Saves energy and water using technology that will lower College costs for at least 15 years
- Provides jobs and new business to the region’s economy
- Proves that environmental improvement and economic development can be compatible policy goals
For more information about HACC, visit hacc.edu. For more information about PennSEF, visit freefutures.org/pennsef/about/. For more information about FREE, visit freefutures.org. For more information about Schneider Electric, visit se.com.
Media contacts:
HACC: newsroom@hacc.edu
Samantha Heckel, Press Secretary (Treasury), 717-418-0206 or sheckel@patreasury.gov
Skylar Hermann, Regional Marketing Manager (Schneider Electric), 502-594-7854 or skylar.hermann@se.com
Darlene Rothwell, Executive Assistant (Foundation for Renewable Energy and Environment), 215-494-7383 or darlene@freefutures.org
