Onsted Community Schools is one of 11 local districts that make up the Lenawee Intermediate School District of Lenawee County, Michigan. The Mission of Onsted Community Schools is to ensure individual growth and an excellent learning experience to foster active and creative minds, with compassion for others and courage to be leaders in a diverse global community.
Following its motto of “Honoring Tradition and Preparing for the Future,” and with an unwavering commitment to providing students with safe, quality, and healthy learning environments, Onsted Community Schools partnered with Energy Systems Group (ESG), a leading energy services provider, to design and implement a comprehensive scope of energy efficiency solutions and building upgrades, dubbed the Wildcat Energy Project, which is anticipated to result in total energy and operational savings of more than $3.2 million over the 15-year term of the energy savings performance contract. The Wildcat Energy Project was funded using Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZAB) which secured 0% financing for the project.
ESG’s engineering and project development specialists designed a comprehensive scope of building improvements that will not only significantly enhance Onsted Community Schools’ leading academic environment, yet will also create economic and operational benefits such as reducing utility costs by 40 percent annually, improving district safety, security and comfort, and significantly reducing maintenance costs. The installation of a solar photovoltaic system promotes sustainability and renewable energy, demonstrating the school districts, environmental stewardship.
Energy and Operational Savings more than $3.2 million over the 15 Year Term of the Project
Onsted Community Schools is projected to reduce utility costs by 40% annually, and carbon footprint will be reduced by 850 metric tons of carbon dioxide over the 15 year term of the project. This is equivalent to one of the following annual environmental benefits:
Creating enough energy to power more than 90 homes
Planting over 820 acres of forest
Removal of emissions equivalent to over 180 cars
The ESCO provides all of the services required to design and implement a comprehensive project at the customer facility, from the initial energy audit through long-term Measurement and Verification (M&V) of project savings.
The ESCO arranges for long-term project financing that is provided by a third-party financing company. Financing is typically in the form of an operating lease or municipal lease.
The ESCO tailors a comprehensive set of measures to fit the needs of a particular facility, and can include energy efficiency, renewable energy, distributed generation, water conservation and sustainable materials and operations.
The ESCO provides a guarantee that the savings produced by the project will be sufficient to cover the cost of project financing for the life of the project.
