Energy Savings Performance Contract with Solar

Project Description

Phase I:

La Joya Independent School District is one of the larger school districts in Texas, and high school football is important within the community. The District knew that their athletic field lighting was approaching the end of its useful life, so selected Performance Services to develop and implement a comprehensive LED lighting project. The project meets the District's energy savings goals as well as showcases their "Friday Night Lights" with state of the art LED fixtures and lighting controls. The scope of the project includes athletic field LED lighting at five fields – La Joya High School football field, two baseball fields, and two softball fields. Additionally, the scope includes comprehensive interior and exterior LED lighting at campus school buildings. To improve lighting within the classrooms, dimmers will also be installed in classrooms, which will allow teachers to control illumination levels to optimize the learning environment. The project will provide $1,071,398 of guaranteed energy and operational savings each year for 15 years. The project reached substantial completion in September 2018.

Phase II:

After the success of that first project, La Joya ISD selected Performance Services to implement a Phase II energy savings performance contract to update 80% of the districts HVAC systems, repair the roof and skylights at La Joya High School, replace two grass football fields with artificial turf, and provide electric power conditioning systems. In addition, two pole-mounted solar arrays will generate 1.8 megawatts of clean renewable energy and is distinguished as the largest solar-energy generating school project to date in South Texas.

The 1.5-megawatt solar array at La Joya High School will serve as a STEM-supported solar learning lab for the high school and district. The second 317.6-kilowatt array will be located at La Joya’s Juarez-Lincoln High School. The combined 1.8 MW of solar energy is expected to produce more than three million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, the equivalent to the annual electricity use of 359 homes.

Phase I and II Project Highlights:

• 1.8 megawatt solar arrays
• Replace grass football fields with artificial turf
• Running tracks installed at elementary schools
• Roof replacement and repairs
• Security gates
• Upgrading 80% of the HVAC across the district
• Replaced interior and exterior inefficient lighting systems with high efficiency LED lighting at 43 school buildings
• Dimmers were installed in all classrooms, allowing teachers to control illumination levels and optimize the learning environment
• LED lighting installed at five athletic fields: La Joya High School, two baseball fields, two softball fields

 

Jonathan Blackwell

National Director of Advanced Metering Infrastructure, LEED AP