Grand Island council approves investment-grade audit to pursue guaranteed energy-savings contract with Honeywell

The Grand Island City Council voted April 22 to authorize an investment-grade audit with Honeywell Building Technologies as the first step toward a guaranteed energy savings performance contract (ESPC).

Honeywell's preliminary analysis targeted City Hall, the Heartland Events Center and the Grand Island Public Library for potential energy conservation measures and facility improvements. The audit Honeywell will perform — if the council’s action is implemented — is intended to produce engineering-level cost estimates and a guaranteed annual energy-savings number that Honeywell would stand behind during a later construction contract.

Why it matters: Council members and staff said the city has aging building systems and rising utility costs, and that an ESPC could use guaranteed energy savings and other funding sources to pay for required capital work while reducing long-term operating expenses.

Honeywell representatives summarized a preliminary assessment that showed City Hall and the Heartland Events Center notably exceeded Energy Star benchmark energy-use intensities. Jordan Balole, Honeywell local account executive, said the firm would “guarantee these energy savings” through the…