Schneider Electric completed an $11.2 million task order at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., in 2022 and just two years later, the project is already paying for itself. The upgrades are saving an estimated $700,000 in utility and operational costs per year while improving base-wide energy resiliency and efficiency. Over the 23-year life of the contract, it will save a projected $21 million.
The project was designed and completed through the Department of Energy’s Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) program, a budget-neutral approach to making building improvements that reduce energy and water usage while increasing operational efficiency. Through an ESPC, today’s facility upgrades are paid for by tomorrow’s energy savings—all without tapping into capital budgets.
Schneider Electric has completed hundreds of ESPC performance contracts that have saved—and continue to save—its clients billions of dollars in energy costs.
“All of the energy savings that we can save as part of the project are used to pay for that infrastructure improvement,” said Dean Yobs, Head of Business Development at Schneider Electric. “That provides them a cash-neutral scenario for them to get all this infrastructure improvement. The savings are guaranteed by Schneider Electric—or, the [energy service company]—and then they’re able to take advantage of all this equipment throughout the contract period, as we are also helping them with the operations and maintenance of anything that we’ve installed.”
Schneider Electric’s energy infrastructure project at Moody is a strong case study on how an ESPC achieves mission-critical resilience.
“Moody had two goals in mind,” said Meghann Ison, Schneider Electric’s project development manager. “One, they wanted to achieve their renewable energy goals. The second was they wanted to meet the cyber-secure requirements for their control system while expanding that system.”
The solution to both goals was written into the ESPC partnership. Schneider Electric installed a new 2.5-megawatt solar array and panel system, which is now providing the base with clean, renewable electrical power while offsetting the utility bill. Moody also received an expanded, cyber-secure energy management control system, which makes energy usage levels more visible while improving comfort and environment for Moody Airmen at work, Ison said.
“For Moody, the solar was the most important component for them because it was the building block to the solution that they wanted to get to,” Yobs said. “Getting that asset on the installation, getting that project going for them, was really like a good steppingstone for them to get to where they wanted to be from a resiliency component.”
Schneider Electric also modernized 2 million square feet across more than 60 buildings at Moody by installing new transformers, updated HVAC systems, and base-wide LED lighting systems. The result is a more reliable, resilient, and mission-ready base.
The Air Force has found a reliable partner in Schneider Electric as the DOD explores new ways to increase energy resiliency across the services. Schneider Electric has completed multiple ESPC projects at Air Force and other Federal Government installations around the world. The energy upgrades at locations like Yokota Air Base in Japan (a critical node in Indo-Pacific Command) and Hurlburt Field in Florida (headquarters of Air Force Special Operations Command) are not only generating monetary savings, but also providing a behind-the-scenes layer of resilience that keep the mission “always on.”
“Their mission is not energy,” Yobs said. “Their mission is whatever each individual Air Force base’s mission is. [Our goal] is to help them with that required component of their everyday operations without getting in the way of the mission.”
Learn more about how Schneider Electric’s innovative solutions and energy performance contracts are posturing Air Force installations around the world for better resiliency and readiness.