Newark Housing Authority to ink energy contract projected to save 78M

The Newark Housing Authority will sign a contract Monday with Constellation Energy that will guarantee $78 million in savings over the course of the next 15 years.

The Newark Housing Authority will sign a contract Monday with Constellation Energy that will guarantee $78 million in savings over the course of the next 15 years.

This is the sixth energy performance contract Constellation has signed with a New Jersey housing authority and the largest one to date. A five-housing development contract was signed between the company and the Trenton Housing Authority in September, guaranteeing $11.5 million in energy conservation upgrades.

According to Constellation spokeswoman Kelly Biemer, measures included in the contract include the installation of energy-efficient lighting, boiler controls, low-flow toilets and shower heads, and the decentralization of heating and hot water systems. In all, the project is estimated to save 10 million gallons of water and significantly reduce power requirements, avoiding the creation of more than 16,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year.

Greg Reinert, director of communications for the Board of Public Utilities, said while any energy-efficiency program is important, larger projects like the one the NHA is embarking on are especially attractive, because of the greater savings and impact one project can make.

“Energy-efficiency upgrades — whether they are at government facilities, school facilities, business facilities or even residential — is a major point of the draft 2011 energy master plan,” Reinert said. “Energy efficiency is a big part of how we’re going to achieve our energy goals going forward.”

The NHA will use the guaranteed energy cost savings to finance the upgrade installations, and according to the announcement from Constellation, will not be required to provide any upfront capital for the projects.