University of Arkansas Treats

Campus Utilities as a Business

F

inancing is one of the central challenges for upgrading the buildings on

a university campus, and part of that challenge is the need to make clear

where the money is going and what additional cash flows may be

needed.

The Physical Plant Department of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

decided to try adopting a business model for its utility operations. That

restructuring helped cement the commitment of officials when it came time

to seek approval for borrowing millions of dollars for energy-efficiency

improvements and infrastructure expansions.

Like a well-run business, the utility operations accumulate financial data as

they purchase energy while delivering electricity, steam and chilled water to

85 buildings around the campus. The utility operations charge a fee to the

buildings as a commercial enterprise would to its customers, despite the fact

that the campus operations are an in-house transfer of resources.

“We build these financing streams into the system,” says Scott Turley,

associate director for design and utilities at the University of Arkansas at

Fayetteville. “We are an entity that functions like a utility company. It makes

the financing of it all work smoothly.”

The resulting performance records made it easier for the managers of the

Continued on page 11

PARTNER UPDATE

Rebuild America

Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program DOE/EE-0284 • July – August 2003

New Youth Center 

Benefits Residents 

and Environment

Ayouth facility under construction in

Christiansburg, VA, is being built to

help at-risk teenage boys overcome

their troubled pasts. It will also help the

environment by using less energy, thanks to

a Rebuild America partnership led by

Community Housing Partners Corporation

(CHPC).

The TEKOA Boys Residential Campus is

designed to be a calm, peaceful place for its

residents to overcome their emotional,

psychological and social challenges. The

design is centered around an inner

courtyard – a quiet space for reflection.

CHPC, the center’s builder and operator, is

a community development corporation

that began as a weatherization program in

1975 to help low-income rural families with

home repairs and energy-efficiency projects.

Over the years, the non-profit

organization’s services have grown to

include project development and economic

and social services, both in Virginia and

parts of Florida.

In This Issue

Better Schools in Maine

Texas Goes into Action

Lights Go Solid State

Viron Becomes Chevron

Efficient and Stylish

Bringing you a prosperous future where energy is clean, abundant, reliable, and affordable

Continued on page 8

3

5

6

9

11

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville: a peaceful campus growing more efficient.
2 PARTNER UPDATE • July – August 2003

The Professionals

Explore Multifamily

Buildings at Meeting

The U.S. Department

of Energy (DOE)

joined in

sponsoring the

Multifamily Buildings

2003 Conference in New

York City June 9-11. The

international conference

brought together about

400 technical experts in

the multifamily buildings

field to discuss new energy

and architectural practices, technologies and solutions for

multifamily buildings, including public and affordable

housing. 

“The Department of Energy is a full partner in the efforts

to promote energy awareness and efficiency in the building

industry,” writes David Garman, assistant secretary for

energy efficiency and renewable energy. “We support the

efforts and accomplishments of those who will bring the

best new ideas, knowledge and thinking to the forefront of

this effort.” 

The conference was held at the Marriott Financial Center

in the heart of New York’s financial district. Because many of

its residents live in multifamily or affordable buildings, New

York City was an appropriate location for the conference.

Local design and technical professionals were on hand to

share new innovations in city buildings. 

The conference served as a training workshop for

architects, engineers, energy specialists and other

professionals who specialize in multifamily buildings.

Several Rebuild America and Boston Regional Office

representatives attended the conference to receive and

contribute information on advanced topics in the field. 

Session topics ranged from health and management of

buildings to energy policy and financing. 

The Targeted Residential Energy Analysis Tools (TREAT)

software, funded by the New York State Energy Research and

Development Authority through the Building Performance

Market Enhancement Initiative, was highlighted in a

conference session. The presenter and president of

Performance Systems Development, Greg Thomas,

showcased how TREAT was developed and the value it gives

professionals in residential and multifamily housing in their

energy analysis. The software was recently approved by DOE

for use in the Weatherization Assistance Program for singlefamily homes, mobile homes and multifamily buildings.

The New York State Division of Housing and Community

Renewal is currently exploring the use of TREAT in its

statewide weatherization program.

Matt Pesce, Rebuild America housing sector coordinator,

participated in two presentations on performance

contracting. He discussed the financial and energy successes

in performance contracts as well as potential barriers in the

process. The 83 performance contracts that Pesce discussed

have yielded $192.4 million in financed and leveraged

investment and $24.9 million in annual savings.

Other presenters and subjects included: Louis McArthur,

partnership representative, Louisiana Department of Natural

Resources, “Financing Energy Projects: Changing Role of

States and Municipalities”; Rick Diamond, products and

services representative, Lawrence Berkeley National

Laboratory, “Ventilation, Air Infiltration, IAQ and Health”;

Cyane Dandridge, program coordinator, “ENERGY STAR®

” and

“Technologies and Occupant Behaviors and Impacts.”

One major focus of the conference was cutting-edge

energy-efficient technologies used in multifamily and

affordable housing facilities. Sponsors of the event

showcased these innovative products in the exhibit hall.

Several of the technologies displayed at the conference and

mentioned in sessions were available through rebate

programs, including select ENERGY STAR products. Attendees

were able to take these incentives back to their communities

for use by residents and property

owners. 

Participants found the knowledge

about implementing energy-saving

technologies and their long-term

benefits to be more valuable than

the rebates. Many learned that

property owners and residents are

more likely to institute energy

solutions if they understand the

financial benefits that accompany

energy savings.

The Association for Energy Affordability Inc. planned and

managed the Multifamily Buildings 2003 Conference. Other

principal conference sponsors included the New York State

Energy Research and Development Authority, the New York

City Housing Authority and DOE. 

For more information on the Multifamily Buildings 2003

Conference, visit www.aeanyc.org. To learn more about

TREAT, visit www.PSDConsulting.com.

Rick Diamond
The Board of Directors of the National School Boards

Association has unanimously endorsed the Rebuild

America/EnergySmart Schools program. That nod of

respect from an important organization reflects the fact that

so many of our projects are in schools, where our partnerships

improve buildings and educations together.

Joseph S. Villani, deputy executive director of NSBA, sent

the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) a letter stressing the

value of our school activities “using a holistic approach to

improving the teaching and learning environment by

providing resources to encourage healthy high-performance

schools and energy education for the consumers of

tomorrow.”

The endorsement, voted at a June 6 board meeting, also

reflects the widening effects of DOE’s Energy Design Guidelines

for High Performance Schools, a seven-book series of guidelines

tailored to climate zones. Put together with contributions

from the national energy laboratories and experts from the

business sector, they were accompanied by the National Best

Practices Manual for Building High Performance Schools.

Students are more comfortable, healthier and happier in

schools where temperature and humidity are properly

modulated and lighting is sufficient. There are ample

indications that students learn better in such environments.

At a higher level of education, the National Association of

College and University Business Officers and the Association

of Higher Education Facilities Officers are Rebuild America

Strategic Partners with their own logical interests in our work.

I was happy to be chosen to speak to their co-located

conference July 28 in Nashville, TN.

Rebuild America also helps educate people beyond the

groves of academe. Earlier this year, the American Institute of

Architects chose to make DOE/Rebuild America a Registered

Provider of continuing education for members of the

professional association. To AIA, another Strategic Partner,

there is real value in our technical seminars and the

presentations we can offer at our conferences.

Other professional societies would do well to think about

such a formalized relationship. This is more than a “nice

idea.” As technologies and standards change, professionals

need to keep up to date. Our program, informing people

about the best technologies and standards, can contribute to

the education of professionals long after graduation.

Dan Sze is National Program Manager of Rebuild America. Your

comments are always welcome at danielsze@rebuild.org.

View From DC 

by Daniel Sze

July – August 2003 • PARTNER UPDATE 3

High Standards Set

for Schools in Maine

Through individual decisions by local school boards

and changes in state law, Maine is raising the

standards high on energy efficiency in its schools.

Behind those changes are the efforts of diverse experts and

advocates, many of them linked together through the

network of Rebuild America.

A technical seminar in June on high-performance schools

was only the latest event in an increasingly successful

Rebuild America effort in Maine. (See sidebar, page 4.)

“Those 100-plus designers and schools officials in

attendance at our workshop were there to learn how to build

the kind of high-performing schools made financially

possible because of opportunities set in motion by Rebuild

America a year ago,” says Doug Baston, a regional customer

service coordinator for the program.

Baston describes not only financial assistance but a variety

of efforts by Rebuild America’s partners that led to adoption

of better energy-efficiency standards.

Thanks in part to those partners, Baston guesses that as

many as four out of five schools in the state over the next

few years will be high-performance schools. Recent state

legislation, written in consultation with the program’s

partners, mandates that all new schools exceed the state’s

energy code, ASHRAE 90.1-99, by at least 20 percent.

The road to those milestones started in the spring of 2002,

after discussions between the Maine School Management

Association (MSMA, a federation of school boards and

superintendents, and a Rebuild America partnership),

Efficiency Maine (the conservation program of a public

system benefits fund in Maine) and the Maine Department

of Education, facilitated with support from the U.S.

Department of Energy’s (DOE) Boston Regional Office, in

particular from Regional Team Lead Greg Davoren.

That spring, Baston proposed to Davoren that DOE support

a novel program to nudge the school construction market in

the direction of energy-efficient designs and technologies. It

was to be based at MSMA.

Baston suggested it can be a mistake to send energy people

to talk efficiency to school people – that the two are from

separate cultures. His idea was for MSMA to contract with a

retired school superintendent who had school construction

experience and who knew personally most of the school

superintendents in the state – not difficult in a state of just

over a million people. The retired superintendent would

“ride circuit” to sell ideas about energy efficiency to his

peers. Rebuild America would then provide the energy

Continued on page 4
4 PARTNER UPDATE • July – August 2003

expertise to back him up. He would be the salesman. Rebuild America

would be tech support.

The idea became a reality through a contract with Dale Doughty,

who traveled the state to interest communities and school officials in

designing high-performance schools.

Rebuild America provided local decision-makers with the resources

and technical assistance they needed to make informed choices.

Energy decisions often are made by default. Building orientation and

solar energy gain, for example, can be fixed by the choice of a site. To

affect those earliest decisions, Doughty also was responsible for

intelligence gathering and outreach to engage communities before

they had committed to architects, engineers, sites or designs.

After communities began thinking about high-performance schools,

Efficiency Maine was persuaded to provide design incentives of as

much as $20,000 per school to help model high-performance options

and capital incentives of as much as $100,000 per school to help

finance recommended measures. The Maine Department of Education

then was convinced to match those incentives.

Thus a school can receive up to $40,000 in modeling assistance and

$200,000 in capital incentives for energy-efficiency measures – plus

$10,000 from Efficiency Maine to help achieve either ENERGY STAR® or

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

During 2002-03, Doughty has been in touch with virtually every

Maine school district that is contemplating construction, and he has

enlisted about 80 percent of them in this program. That means four

out of five new schools in Maine should be high-performance schools.

To insure that each new school is operated properly, Efficiency Maine

also will require that the facility staff enroll in the Building Operator

Certification Program operated by the Northeast Energy Efficiency

Partnership, another Rebuild America partnership. Efficiency Maine

pays the $1,600 tuition cost.

“Most of these new schools will become EnergySmart schools in the

best sense of those words,” Baston says.

In what Baston calls the “final market transformation victory,” the

effort in Maine communities and at Efficiency Maine and MSMA led

state Sen. Christopher Hall, chairman of the Maine Legislature’s

Utilities and Energy Committee, to introduce legislation requiring that

all new schools constructed in the state exceed ASHRAE 90.1-99 by at

least 20 percent.

That efficiency standard is a minimum code recommendation by

the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning

Engineers. It is for all buildings except low-rise residential buildings.

“I think we have established a complementary set of incentives and

regulations that makes it likely that any new school built here in

Maine will be a high-performing school,” Baston says. “In a little state, a

few folks with commitment and a vision can make a real difference.

They can change the way things are done.”

For more information, contact Doug Baston, 207-882-7221, email

DCBaston@aol.com.

Good Business in Maine

Rebuild America brought the technical

expertise of its Business Partners to a June 6

seminar in Portland, ME, to help maintain the

momentum toward building energy-efficient

schools in that state.

The High Performance Schools Design and

Technologies Seminar, held on the campus of the

University of Southern Maine, was the second of

14 planned seminars teaming Business Partners

and other businesses with program specialists to

explain the specialized worlds of lighting,

roofing, air quality, mechanical systems and

other relevant topics. For Maine, the seminar was

tailored to a cold and humid climate, one of

seven climatic regions as designated in the U.S.

Department of Energy’s series of Energy Design

Guidelines for High Performance Schools.

More than 100 people attended the seminar,

including people from New Hampshire, Vermont

and Massachusetts as well as Maine. There were

more than 40 architects and engineers in

attendance. The split between school and

professional personnel was roughly 50-50.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission was a

cosponsor, along with Rebuild America, whose

National EnergySmart Schools Sector Technical

Analyst Larry Schoff served as a presenter and

facilitator. Business Partners whose specialists

gave presentations included Magnaray,

Wattstopper, McQuay International and Sarnafil.

Other presentations were offered by two local

companies, Semple & Drane Architects and

Turner Building Science.

For more information, contact Larry Schoff,

540-961-2184, email lschoff@rev.net or Doug

Baston, 207-882-7221, email

DCBaston@aol.com.

Maine Schools

continued from page 3
percent by

jurisdictions providing both a

2001 baseline and 2002 data.

The data came from the jurisdictions’ self-reporting, which

was funneled into the Texas Energy Partnership. The

partnership team sifted the data and a mass of local program

examples into suitable form for an overview report.

Clean Air Through Energy Efficiency highlights actions taken

around the state, from delamping vending machines to

devising comprehensive citywide energy policies. The many

local program details help explain the achievements in

cutting electricity consumption.

Galveston, for example, committed itself to complying

with SB5, hired an energy manager and began work with an

energy service company. Plano replaced existing traffic

signals with light-emitting diode (LED) technology, and

Austin is doing the same. Dallas County plans to initiate a

building commissioning program. Fort Worth is finalizing

detailed audits on 500,000 square feet of buildings. 

Substantial results in the first year under SB5 were not

assured. The primary necessities of the first year of action

were the formation of energy-efficiency plans, the

establishment of electricity consumption baselines and the

dissemination of information to shape plans.

SECO – under Director Dub Taylor and Deputy Director

Perry Been – with Rebuild America and ENERGY STAR did more

than produce a report.

“The Partnership provides information on setting goals,

determining strategies, and providing leadership support,”

explains Taylor in his introductory letter in the report. “In

addition, the Partnership has produced brochures, a resource

CD, a Web site and numerous workshops.”

For more information, contact Mike Myers, 512-280-7569,

email mt4myers@aol.com, or visit

www.texasenergypartnership.org, where a PDF of the report

is posted under the “News and Events” section.

Texans are learning what they themselves have begun

to accomplish in energy efficiency, now that a report

has been issued on state-mandated progress on

reducing air pollution.

The State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) released the

report, Clean Air Through Energy Efficiency, in May with help

from Rebuild America. It has since been circulating in the

state capital and other cities and towns, where officials at

various levels of state and local government are discovering

that they have been achieving more than most of them may

have expected.

What set so much of the action in motion was a piece of

legislation that came to be known as the Texas Emissions

Reduction Plan (a.k.a. Senate Bill 5, or SB5), an amendment of

the state Health and Safety Code. SB5 was written to reduce

air emissions and included mandates for reductions in

electricity consumption. It requires political subdivisions of

41 counties (originally 38) to: implement all cost-effective

energy-efficiency measures to reduce electricity

consumption in government facilities and operations; set a

goal of cutting that electricity consumption by 5 percent

each year for five years beginning Jan. 1, 2002; and report the

efforts and progress annually.

To help those political subdivisions, the Texas Energy

Partnership was formed. It combines the resources of SECO,

Rebuild America and ENERGY STAR®

, a joint program of the

U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency. 

Through a very wide array of retrofits, alternative-energy

installations and operational changes, local governments

across Texas are reducing electricity consumption and at the

same time saving money and restraining air emissions.

“Energy savings are grabbing attention,” says Mike Myers, a

Rebuild America customer service coordinator based in

Austin. “Energy efficiency and renewable energy are helping

communities save money and reduce emissions.”

Although the mandate did not apply to the private sector,

it seemed ambitious, even so. The affected counties included

all of the largest cities in Texas. There were widespread

concerns that the report would reveal too much inertia –

city and county governments failing even to plan for action.

Instead, what was revealed was a very big state getting to

work on a problem. 

Among the results culled from the cities and counties: 194

political subdivisions reported data for 2001, 144 reported

data for 2002 and 176 established the 5 percent-a-year

reduction goal. Best of all, electricity consumption was cut 6

July – August 2003 • PARTNER UPDATE 5

Texas Energy Office Opens Eyes With Report

on Efficiency Activity
Most people don’t think about light-emitting diodes

(LEDs), despite the widening application of this

technology in recent years. LEDs illuminate alarm

clocks, exit signs, cell phone displays and even flashlights for

camping. You’ve probably seen them while driving – being

used in traffic signals or taillights. Although solid-state

lighting can reduce electricity costs – an LED traffic light

uses up to 90 percent less energy – the technology holds the

bigger promise of revolutionizing lighting as we know it.

LEDs consist of inorganic semiconductor material, such as

gallium nitride, and a diode. One-way electric current is

passed through the diode causing the material to produce

light. “It’s one of the simplest semiconductor devices you can

imagine,” explains Jeff Tsao, principal member of technical

staff at Sandia National Laboratories. 

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) work on the same

principle but use organic materials. LEDs are expensive to

produce because of the materials involved. Researchers think

that OLEDs will make this technology more affordable by

using less expensive semiconductors. However, the

technology is less mature than LEDs, which have been

around for many years.

Solid-state lighting technologies have the potential to

greatly reduce energy consumed by lighting fixtures.

Although the incandescent light bulb has been the

workhorse of the lighting industry since its introduction,

Edison’s invention is much better at producing heat than

light. Nearly 90 percent of the energy used to illuminate an

incandescent bulb is wasted as heat. 

6 PARTNER UPDATE • July – August 2003

If solid-state lighting doubles the aggregate efficiency of

lighting, and the technology is widely adopted, then

electricity consumption for lighting could be cut in half. If

this scenario occurs by 2025, it is projected that consumers

in the United States could save $35 billion per year.

According to Sandia National Laboratories, LEDs produce

more light per watt than incandescent lights, and can last up

to 20 times longer. However, fluorescent technology

produces more light per watt than current solid-state

lighting. With advances in the field, researchers expect that

LEDs will become much more efficient, producing twice as

much light output as a fluorescent lamp using the same

amount of energy. LEDs may one day last for 100,000 hours

before needing to be replaced.

Producing cost-effective white LEDs would dramatically

increase the market penetration of solid-state lighting. When

measured in cost per lumen (light output), though, white

LEDs are 200 times more costly than traditional lighting

sources, according to Sandia National Laboratories.

DOE Analysis

A report produced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

and the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association

(OIDA) on the potential of solid-state lighting outlines the

various methods to produce white light from LEDs. One

process uses a blue LED with a yellow phosphor coating that

gives the appearance of white light. Although this method is

the most common for current commercial applications,

there are color quality concerns.

Another method uses ultraviolet (UV) LEDs and multiple

phosphors to produce various colors that, when combined,

appear as white light. Researchers will need to find better

phosphors and increase efficiency if this method is to

become widely used. Sandia National Laboratories recently

announced its researchers are using quantum dots –

nanoparticles measuring one-billionth of a meter in length –

with UV LEDs. This method promises better light quality

and control. 

A third approach uses three or more colors to produce

white light, although it can be costly. However, the

DOE/OIDA report states that this method has the best longterm potential to produce high-quality white light

efficiently enough to compete with other lighting sources.

Overcoming the technical obstacles preventing white

TECHNOLOGY:

Taking Lighting to the Next Level of Efficiency

With R&D Advances in Solid-State Technologies
LEDs from being cost-effective and quickly

commercialized will require a sustained commitment

by the federal government, industry and academia,

according to the DOE/OIDA report.

Legislative Proposals

To further the research and application of this

technology, U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Mike

DeWine (R-OH) introduced a bill in July 2001 calling for DOE

to lead the Next Generation Lighting Initiative (NGLI). The

program would engage private industry and universities by

awarding competitive grants that support research,

development and deployment of solid-state lighting

technologies based on white LEDs and OLEDs.

The Next Generation Lighting Initiative was included in

the Senate’s version of the Energy Policy Act of 2002. The

bill was sent to a House-Senate Conference Committee to

resolve the differences in the legislation between the House

and Senate versions, but Congress failed to vote on the

Energy Policy Act that year. 

The initiative was included in H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act

of 2003, passed by the House of Representatives on 

April 11 and sent to the Senate. H.R. 6 authorizes $450 million

for the initiative through fiscal year 2012.

The proposed Energy Policy Act of 2003 (S. 14) included a

provision for the Next Generation Lighting Initiative to

receive $450 million over a decade. The full Senate chose to

revert to its 2002 energy bill, which has a similar funding

provision for the initiative. That set the stage for HouseSenate Conference Committee negotiations after August. 

Glowing Desks and Curtains

LEDs have already made significant market penetration in

exit lighting and traffic signals. Steve Johnson, group leader

for lighting research at Lawrence Berkeley National

Laboratory, expects the next market breakthrough to be

perimeter and stairwell lighting. LEDs will soon be more

common in task lamps and counter lighting. 

While solid-state technologies will have a great impact on

reducing energy use for lighting, their potential goes far

beyond being a replacement for fluorescent lamps and

incandescent lights. 

Sheila Kennedy, AIA, a principal of Kennedy & Violich

Architecture, presented a lecture at the National Building

Museum this spring addressing the vision of a paradigm shift

in lighting as a result of solid-state lighting. 

Kennedy designed an electroluminescent desk with

support from the Lighting Research and Development

Program of DOE’s Building Technologies Program and

technical assistance from Novatech Inc. The plywood desk

incorporates thin, flexible polymer film coated with

phosphors. The film illuminates when electric current is

introduced. With the OLED turned on, the desk

becomes a light source, giving off a cool, bluish

hue. Computers can customize the lighting

color or intensity. Circuitry is built into the desk

so users can control the light through touch

sensors imbedded in the desk. Data ports allow

the integration of digital hardware.

Kennedy’s firm is also experimenting with

curtains that give off light. This technology

could be used in various applications such as high-tech

clothing for medical or military purposes.

This technology may spark an explosion of creativity in

the design industry. It will give architects and designers more

options: walls or ceilings that illuminate, interactive displays

in windows, and lighting that changes color to set a mood in

a room. At an office you could change the lighting to use the

best color for a particular task, explains Johnson.

Solid-state lighting allows light to convey information.

Just look at the LED count-down walk signals being installed

at crosswalks around the country, Tsao says. 

The technology will allow better lighting control while

using small amounts of energy. However, energy efficiency

will probably be the last thing on someone’s mind the first

time they see a wall glow.

For more information, visit Sandia National Laboratories’

Web site on solid-state lighting at http://lighting.sandia.gov

or read the DOE/OIDA report at http://lighting.sandia.gov/

lightingdocs/OIDA_SSL_Roadmap_Summary_2002.pdf.

While solid-state technologies will have a great

impact on reducing energy use for lighting, their

potential goes far beyond being a replacement for

fluorescent lamps and incandescent lights. 

July – August 2003 • PARTNER UPDATE 7

Light Source Efficiency Lifetime

Incandescent bulb 16 lumens/watt 1000 hours

Fluorescent lamp 85 lumens/watt 10,000 hours

Today’s white LEDs 25 lumens/watt 20,000 hours

Future white LEDs up to 200 lumens/watt 100,000 hours
Number of Partnerships:

539

Total Number of Committed or 

Completed Square Feet:

1,177,224,020

as of July 29, 2003 

Rebuild America Progress Calculator

8 PARTNER UPDATE • July – August 2003

New Youth Center

continued from page 1

By helping families and communities save energy dollars

while encouraging sustainable economic development, the

organization’s work complements Rebuild America’s mission

to improve communities through energy efficiency.

To increase the energy efficiency of the complex, Rebuild

Virginia supported a workshop for CHPC staff addressing the

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

Green Building Rating SystemTM. Tom Fisher, at the time an

architect with The Folsom Group, led the workshop. He is

serving as the sustainable building consultant for this

project, working with 2RW – a Rebuild America Business

Partner and the mechanical, electrical and plumbing

consultants.

“As advocates for green building, energy efficiency and

sustainability, we thought we’d use this building as a model,”

says Colin Arnold, CHPC’s staff architect, who designed the

facility. 

As a result of the workshop, Arnold altered the project

plans to conform to LEED guidelines. “They are fortunate to

have Arnold on staff,” says Annette Osso, with Rebuild

Virginia. “It is unusual to have an architect on staff at a

community development corporation,” she notes.

CHPC registered the project with the LEED program, and is

aiming for gold-level certification.

The 10,800-square-foot complex is being built next to an

existing classroom building operated by CHPC. The center is

being constructed around a hilltop, rather than on top of it,

on an existing clearing. Arnold notes that no trees were

removed from the site.

The facility will consist of two buildings – one for

dormitory rooms, administrative offices and a meeting room

and a second that will house the dining hall and kitchen.

Floor-to-ceiling windows will fill the complex with

natural light, while window glazing and deep overhangs

prevent the harsh summer sun from overheating the

building. The buildings are oriented on an east-west axis to

maximize southern exposure. Colored concrete floor slabs

will serve as latent heat sources when energy from the low

winter sun is absorbed and then released by the material.

Light from man-made sources will be energy efficient. Not

a single energy-wasting incandescent light was included in

the design. Instead, compact fluorescent light bulbs and

fluorescent lights with high-efficiency ballasts will be

installed throughout. Arnold is also proposing to use

occupancy sensors to further reduce lighting costs.

Overall, the TEKOA Boys Residential Campus is designed

to be 50 percent to 60 percent more efficient than a typical

building of the same size and purpose, according to models

Chamber of Sustainable Utilities & Infrastructure, IA

Maharishi Vedic City, IA

Tri-State University, IN

Chesapeake Public Schools, VA

New Partnerships

that follow ASHRAE 90.1 baseline standards.

Life-cycle costs were an important consideration for this

complex. Because the residents are adolescent boys, the

buildings are designed to take some abuse. Concrete block is

used throughout, with color aggregate added to make the

material look more like stone than cinder block. Arnold

explains that using concrete is a bit more expensive, but

worth it when you consider long-term costs and durability.

CHPC is exploring the use of water-source heat pumps,

with vertical geothermal wells in the courtyard. By using the

courtyard as part of the system, CHPC would not have to

disturb another area of the property. 

Arnold notes that geothermal is more costly to install, but

it should have an eight- to 10-year payback period in this

setting. Much of the savings for the complex can be

attributed to the geothermal design. The building envelope

will also be a significant source of energy savings. 

Water conservation is also factored into the design. Lowflow plumbing fixtures will be installed so that the buildings

will use 20 percent less water than a typical complex of

similar size and use. Rain runoff from the roof will be used to

water the landscaping. 

Although excessive rain in the Mid-Atlantic region slowed

construction, the facility should be finished by the end of

the year. Upon completion, the center will help at-risk

teenagers overcome their problems, while serving as a

showcase for sustainability and environmental stewardship.

For more information, contact Colin Arnold, CHPC, at

540-382-2002 x118 or email carnold@chpc2.org.
July – August 2003 • PARTNER UPDATE 9

ChevronTexaco Buys

Performance Contractor

Viron Energy Services

Chevron Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of ChevronTexaco,

acquired Viron Energy Services from CMS Energy in July.

The move was a big vote of confidence in performance

contracting, Viron’s specialty.

Chevron Energy Solutions said the acquisition

significantly enhanced its capabilities in performance

contracting, especially in the education and state and local

government markets, where Viron has won hundreds of

contracts.

“We look forward to offering Viron’s expertise to schools,

colleges, universities, cities, counties, states and many other

customers, while continuing to deliver effective energy

solutions to federal agencies and commercial and industrial

customers,” says Jim Davis, president of Chevron Energy

Solutions.

The acquisition of Viron and the federal contracts of a

company called Planergy International – a subsidiary of

holding company Xcel Energy Inc. – added about 180 energy

professionals to Chevron Energy Solutions, expanding the

company to approximately 300 employees. More than a

dozen offices also were added, covering all major regions of

the United States.

Chevron Energy Solutions announced the acquisition of

the Planergy International contracts in 2002 and recently

completed the transfer of those contracts. As a result,

Chevron Energy Solutions has been designing and

implementing energy-efficiency projects and integrated

information systems for the federal government.

“With these two developments, Chevron Energy Solutions

is well positioned to provide energy services to all

institutional markets, in addition to commercial and

industrial companies,” Davis says.

John Mahoney, formerly president of Viron, has become

chief operating officer of Chevron Energy Solutions in the

expanded organization. He continues to work from

Overland Park, KS, which was the home base of Viron.

“To become part of Chevron Energy Solutions’

organization and ChevronTexaco’s 100-plus-year history as a

leader in energy opens up a world of opportunities for our

customers and our employees,” says Mahoney.

Chevron Energy Solutions is based in San Francisco. Its

parent company, based in San Ramon, CA, is the secondlargest U.S. energy company. ChevronTexaco’s decision to

deploy an unspecified amount of money on acquiring 

Viron – rather than redirecting the capital to other energy

activities – was a signal that the quietly growing business of

performance contracting is attracting more long-term

interest.

A powerhouse like ChevronTexaco also provides

reassurance to potential customers that the energy service

company will have the financial capability and durability to

make good on contracts that typically run eight to 15 years.

Other companies will provide strong competition for

Chevron Energy Solutions. Affiliates of electric utilities have

delved deeply into performance contracting, as in the cases

of Vestar (a unit of Cincinnati-based Cinergy) and Sempra

Energy Solutions (part of the Southern California electric

and gas giant Sempra Energy).

Large equipment companies also have found performance

contracting an appealing diversification, as in the cases of

Siemens Building Technologies, Honeywell and Johnson

Controls. All three are Rebuild America Business Partners, as

are Vestar and Sempra Energy Solutions. 

Other performance contractors can be found among the

members of the National Association of Energy Service

Companies (NAESCO) and the Energy Services Coalition,

both of them Rebuild America Strategic Partners.

Viron, too, was a Business Partner of the program. Its

parent, CMS Energy, hit the financial skids when troubles in

electric power and energy trading undercut investor faith in

many energy company stocks, sending market values

tumbling. Like several other companies – such as rival El Paso

Corp. – CMS Energy decided to sell assets to shore up its

financial condition, and Viron was put up for sale.

CMS Energy sold the federal contracts of Viron to Pepco

Energy Services, another utility affiliate, in February.

For more information, contact Diane Sable, 415-733-4629,

email diane.sable@chevrontexaco.com, or Steve Spurgeon,

913-563-3609, email sspurgeon@viron.com, both of Chevron

Energy Solutions; or visit www.chevronenergy.com.

Colorado’s capitol complex in Denver is one of many places where Viron won contracts.
Upcoming Events

September

3-4 Annual Energy Seminar, presented by the

Tennessee Department of Correction. Falls Creek

State Park, Pikeville, TN. Contact Roger Coffelt at

roger.coffelt@state.tn.us.

16 Energy Technology Seminar, presented by

Rebuild America and New York Energy $mart

Communities. Best Western University Inn,

Canton, NY. Contact Robyn Stewart at 

518-432-6400 x221 or email info@eba-nys.org.

17-18 The 21st Annual West Coast Energy

Management Congress, presented by the

Association of Energy Engineers. San Diego

Concourse, San Diego, CA. Contact Ruth Marie at

770-447-5083 or email info@aeecenter.org.

27-30 The Council of Educational Facility

Planners International’s Annual

Conference, Hyatt Regency, Rosemont, IL. 

Visit http://www.cefpi.org/chicago2003.

30 High Performance Schools Design and

Technologies Seminar, presented by Rebuild

America/EnergySmart Schools, General Electric

Lighting and Ohio Dept. of Development Office

of Energy Efficiency. GE Lighting Institute,

Cleveland, OH. Contact Manny Anunike at 614-

466-4092 or email eanunike@odod.state.oh.us.

October

1-3 Sustainable Energy Expo and

Conference, Los Angeles Convention Center,

Los Angeles, CA. Visit

http://www.sustainableexpo.com.

2-1 High Performance Schools Design and

Technologies Seminar, presented by Rebuild

America/EnergySmart Schools and Rebuild

Colorado. Tri-State Generation & Transmission

Association headquarters, Westminster, CO.

Contact Rena Finn at 303-894-2383 or email

rena.finn@state.co.us.

26-28 4th Annual Indoor Air Quality Tools for

Schools National Symposium, Grand Hyatt

Hotel, Washington, DC. Visit

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/symposium.htm.

10 PARTNER UPDATE • July – August 2003

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Geothermal Qualities

[Editor’s Note: The March-April Partner Update included a chart

on page 7 presenting cost and quality assessments based on

experience in Indiana with HVAC technologies. The Geothermal

Heat Pump Consortium provides differing information below.

While we try to be accurate, we do not independently research all

data that comes to us. We encourage anyone with information or

views on Partner Update subjects to write to us.]

Dear Editor,

The March-April issue of Rebuild America’s Partner Update

newsletter contains information on geothermal heat pump

systems (GHPs) that is incorrect. The article summarizes a

presentation given by Thomas Durkin of Veazey Parrott

Durkin & Shoulders. The following information documents

the errors in the table on page seven.

The Partner Update article states construction costs of GHPs

are $18 per square foot. This is incorrect. According to the U.S.

Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the

average cost for GHP systems in commercial new

construction is $14.61 per square foot. In a commercial

retrofit, the average is $11.50/sq.ft.

The Partner Update article puts the service life of GHPs at

12-15 years. The DOE National Best Practices Manual for

Building High Performance Schools puts GHP service life cycle

at 25-30 years. Both the American Society of Heating,

Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and

the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have concluded

that the service life for geoexchange technology is 20 years.

The Partner Update article estimates a utility cost for GHPs

of $0.65 per square foot. This is incorrect. Rebuild Colorado

provided assistance to Colorado Springs District 11 to install a

GHP system that operates at just $0.47 per square foot. 

The Partner Update article describes the “maintenance

burden” of GHPs as “poor.” The DOE National Best Practices

Manual for Building High Performance Schools, notes that GHPs

“require little maintenance aside from regular cleanings of

the heat exchanger coils and strainers that filter the ground

water, as well as regular air filter changes.”

The Partner Update article gives GHPs a mark of “poor” for

humidity control. This is incorrect. According to DOE’s

Federal Energy Management Program, GHPs provide “better

humidity control.” (“FEMP’s Geothermal Heat Pump

Program,” www.eren.doe.gov/femp.)

Sincerely,

Wael El-Sharif, Executive Director

Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium
accommodating greater enrollment.

University officials found the planning and the

businesslike utility reorganization sufficiently impressive to

give the green light to secure the needed bonds and move

forward with the improvements.

“I think it’s the business model that’s enabling us to do

things,” Turley says. “It’s the economic model that we’ve put

together around this utility master plan that convinced

people to allow this financing.”

With the financing in place, the university is improving its

facilities through a variety of energy-efficient technologies,

including better HVAC (heating, ventilation and air

conditioning), a new and much higher-efficiency centralplant chiller, building control upgrades and other

equipment retrofits.

Building metering and controls are especially noteworthy,

because they allow the Physical Plant Department to verify

energy savings.

“Some of the debt service comes from avoided energy

costs,” Turley says. “That will help pave the way for more

borrowing and improvements. As these bonds pay off, that

frees up debt capacity,” Turley points out.

For more information, contact Scott Turley of the

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, 479-575-6181, or Kirk

Bond, Rebuild America colleges and universities sector

coordinator, 816-587-0311, email kbond@rebuild.org.

July – August 2003 • PARTNER UPDATE 11

University of Arkansas

continued from page 1

physical-plant operations to demonstrate the effectiveness

of their work and the need for improvements. 

Now the Fayetteville campus has a $26 million program of

infrastructure and building improvements in the works,

supported most recently by an $18 million bond issue.

The first step in developing an overall strategy was taken

in 1998, when University Chancellor John A. White called

for development of a campus master plan. Then, about two

years later, the Physical Plant Department developed a

utility master plan. That in turn led to a facility condition

assessment, with an estimate of the work that the facilities

needed and how much the work would cost.

Rebuild America helped with the planning. The

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville is a partner in Rebuild

Fayetteville.

The initial planning horizon was 10 years. It included an

estimate that the student population – about 16,000 this

year – will grow to 22,500 by about 2010. That in turn led to

a calculation that about $50 million would be needed in

capital investment – about half of that for replacement and

retrofit work of utility systems within existing buildings,

and the other half for new equipment and infrastructure

S

tyle does not need to be sacrificed

for the sake of efficiency. The point

becomes obvious with a glance at

lighting fixture designs that became

finalists in Lighting for Tomorrow, the

National Lighting Fixture Design

Competition. The winners in the

competition were announced at the

American Lighting Association’s annual

conference, held in May in New Orleans. 

The Pacific Northwest National

Laboratory (PNNL), on behalf of the U.S.

Department of Energy, was one of the

three organizers of the competition,

along with the American Lighting

Association and the Consortium for

Energy Efficiency.

The Lighting for Tomorrow

competition was launched in December.

To be eligible, fixture designs had to meet ENERGY STAR®

standards and be rated for use in residential buildings.

Stefano Casciani of Ivalo Lighting Inc. won the top prize

of $10,000 for his design of Aliante Pendant, a pendant lamp

fixture. 

Among the other 10 finalists, Stephen Blackman of

American Fluorescent Corp. had no less than four finalist

designs, including Salem, a chandelier. 

Another finalist was Manny Vieyra of Forecast for his

sconce design, named Torch.

An award of $2,500 was given for each design that

qualified as a finalist.

For more information, contact Kelly Gordon of PNNL, 

503-417-7558 or kelly.gordon@pnl.gov.

Style Counts in Efficient Lighting, Too

Salem

Torch
REBUILD AMERICA 

Office of Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy

U.S. Department of Energy

1000 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20585-0121

Address Correction Requested

Rebuild America is a network

of partnerships – focused 

on communities – that save

money by saving energy.

These voluntary partnerships choose to improve

the quality of life in their communities through

energy efficiency. Rebuild America supports them

with customized assistance backed by technical and

business experts and resources.

Published bimonthly by the U.S. Department 

of Energy, Partner Update also incorporates news 

of other programs within the Office of Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Newsletter contact: 

Alan Kovski, 202-466-7391 or akovski@pcgpr.com. 

To subscribe: 

rebuildorders@rebuild.org or 252-459-4664.

Energy efficiency and clean, renewable

energy will mean a stronger economy, a

cleaner environment, and greater energy

independence for America. By investing in

technology breakthroughs today, our nation

can look forward to a more resilient

economy and secure future. 

Far-reaching technology changes will be

essential to America's energy future.

Working with a wide array of state,

community, industry, and university

partners, the U.S. Department of Energy's

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable

Energy invests in a portfolio of energy

technologies that will:

• Conserve energy in the residential,

commercial, industrial, government,

and transportation sectors 

• Increase and diversify energy supply,

with a focus on renewable domestic

sources 

• Upgrade our national energy

infrastructure 

• Facilitate the emergence of hydrogen

technologies as a vital new “energy

carrier.” 

The Opportunities

Biomass Program

Using domestic, plant-derived resources to

meet our fuel, power, and chemical needs

Building Technologies Program

Homes, schools, and businesses that use

less energy, cost less to operate, and

ultimately, generate as much power as 

they use

Distributed Energy & Electric Reliability

Program

A more reliable energy infrastructure and

reduced need for new power plants

Federal Energy Management Program

Leading by example, saving energy and

taxpayer dollars in federal facilities 

FreedomCAR & Vehicle Technologies

Program

Less dependence on foreign oil, and

eventual transition to an emissions-free,

petroleum-free vehicle

Geothermal Technologies Program

Tapping the earth's energy to meet our heat

and power needs

Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure

Technologies Program

Paving the way toward a hydrogen

economy and net-zero carbon energy future

Industrial Technologies Program

Boosting the productivity and

competitiveness of U.S. industry through

improvements in energy and environmental

performance

Solar Energy Technology Program

Utilizing the sun's natural energy to

generate electricity and provide water 

and space heating 

Weatherization & Intergovernmental

Program

Accelerating the use of today's best energyefficient and renewable technologies in

homes, communities, and businesses 

Wind & Hydropower Technologies Program

Harnessing America's abundant natural

resources for clean power generation

To learn more, visit www.eere.energy.gov

Marketing and Communications Rebuild America Help Line 202-466-7868

Check Us Out At: www.rebuild.gov or 252-459-4664

A Strong Energy Portfolio for a Strong America