To: Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology
From: David Gibson, Sierra Club Maine
Date: April 13, 2021
Re: Testimony in Support of LD 815: An Act To Support School Decarbonization
Senator Lawrence, Representative Berry, and members of the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology: my name is David Gibson, and I am a resident of Morrill. I am representing Sierra Club Maine and our 22,000 supporters and members across the state. We voice our support for this legislation: LD 815 An Act To Support School Decarbonization.
I am a Certified Energy Manager and LEED Accredited Professional for Building Design and Construction through the US Green Building Council. I have more than a decade of experience leading efficiency and clean energy projects, including 5 years leading in-school efficiency and clean energy education for the non-profit Envirolution in Reno, Nevada. These programs included leading students on an energy assessment of their schools; students also developed proposals for efficiency and clean energy projects like LED lighting retrofits, rooftop solar, and adjusting thermostats to save energy.
I also led the implementation of efficiency programs statewide for the Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy from 2014-2016. One program that I led was a technical assistance program for energy-saving performance contracting (ESPC) for cities, counties, school districts and other public facilities. ESPC is a process that engages an Energy Services Company, or ESCO, to conduct an in-depth audit and guarantee the future utility savings from efficiency and clean energy projects. The guaranteed future utility savings provide collateral for the upfront investment to implement ESPC projects, and then are used to repay the loan after the project is completed. ESPC has been used to fund efficiency and clean energy projects by city, county, state, and federal entities across the country. These projects are revenue-neutral and often provide a positive cashflow, with energy savings exceeding the cost of loan repayment.
There are a variety of resources available on energy-saving performance contracting, included the US Department of Energy: https://www.energy.gov/eere/slsc/energy-savings-performance-contracting and the National Association of Energy Service Companies: https://naesco.org/what-is-an-espc I would highly encourage Efficiency Maine to include technical assistance for ESPC projects as one method of funding School Decarbonization projects.
I would also recommend engaging students and teachers in these projects to the extent possible. Deep efficiency retrofits, clean energy installations and other decarbonization projects provide incredible learning opportunities for students and other members of the community. Sierra Club Maine strongly supports LD 815.
Thank you Senator Maxmin for bringing this legislation forward. We ask the committee to vote LD 815 Ought to Pass.