Starpoint Central Schools Energy Performance Contract

Starpoint Central School District has been a leader in energy efficiency and climate action through their proactive and creative approach to building capital improvements. The District has reduced their operating costs and carbon emissions through energy analysis, sustainable design, and collaborative implementation of traditional capital improvements and energy system upgrades.

Through NYSERDA’s K-12 Schools Program, Starpoint Central School District participated in energy benchmarking analysis from 2018 through 2022 to track and monitor the buildings energy consumption in benchmarking software. In parallel, the District received Building Energy Star Certification through the US Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR^® Portfolio Manager. Following a Building Conditions Assessment in 2022, the District identified over $25M in needed capital maintenance upgrades. The District was faced with a financial challenge to accomplish building upgrades with taxpayer support.

Wendel presented Starpoint Schools with an opportunity to develop parallel programs, which the District utilized for several beneficial reasons, including financial. The first program involved the traditional programming, design-bid-build process to install capital upgrades through various phases and contract types. The second approach focused on electrical and mechanical system needs that resulted in energy savings, leveraged energy program funding and captured NYSED building aid.

Wendel assisted the District in obtaining a cost-shared grant through NYSERDA to complete a comprehensive energy study of District buildings and related energy systems.  Identified synergies with the building conditions assessment were strategically selected as part of the programming process. A long-term plan was put into place that determined the most beneficial way to fund each portion of the project that would span seven years. The two-phase capital project was able to “unload” costly electrical and mechanical equipment upgrades to free up capital for building improvements such as a full steam to hot water conversion, pool reconstruction, roofing, a redesigned library, additional instruction space, and new multipurpose athletic fields. Energy-related improvements were bundled together such that operational savings and energy incentives offset the cost of the project financed over time. This energy project was implemented in a design-build fashion under an energy savings performance contract, that also took advantage of a municipal lease financing option in lieu of traditional bonds.

This creative approach enabled the District to implement a larger volume of building-related upgrades while minimizing the financial impact on taxpayers and maximizing building aid.