The Southeast Arkansas College board of trustees recently approved a performance energy contract with Bernhard Energy and approved a three-year strategic plan through 2025.
According to College President Steven Bloomberg, SEARK’s current lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), and security infrastructure are aging and, in many cases, reaching a point in their lifespan where a significant investment will be required. SEARK has been working with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality on a program intended to help public entities replace obsolete or nonfunctional infrastructure without a significant capital outlay.
The ADEQ-Arkansas Energy Office (AEO) has developed the Arkansas Energy Performance Contracting (AEPC) program to meet the owners in Arkansas to utilize energy performance contracting (EPC) as an effective and user-friendly process to improve energy and operational efficiency while reducing costs and addressing deferred maintenance concerns without the need for upfront capital. While the program was initially developed for state agencies and institutions of higher education, recent legislation has expanded the AEPC program across the public sector.
EPC is a service offered by Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) as a practical way for owners to finance facility improvement projects with guaranteed energy and utility savings.
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In SEARK’s instance, the EPC will provide the following upgrades:
• Retrofitting all interior and exterior lights with LED.
• Installing a new campus-wide video surveillance system with building access controls.
• Installing new campus-wide life safety systems (fire alarms).
• Installing a new automated lighting control system.
• Installing a new automated HVAC control system.
• Replacing various boilers and chillers.
• Installing a ground mount solar array to help reduce the college’s energy consumption.
• Installing new ultraviolet air sanitizing systems to protect against the spread of viruses, such as covid-19.
The total cost is $6.7 million in upgrades/infrastructure improvements. SEARK is utilizing $1.7 million in one-time funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and will use the guaranteed energy savings to offset the remaining debt.
Now that the board of trustees has approved the contract, the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Legislative Peer Review Committee must also approve. Bloomberg said SEARK anticipates work to begin on the contract in November and will take approximately one year to complete.
The SEARK board also approved the college’s new three-year strategic plan, “The Way Forward.”
The plan highlights six pillars:
• Academic excellence and innovation.
• Student experience.
• Diversity, inclusion and responsible citizenship.
• Workplace environment.
• Campus infrastructure.
• Commitment to community.
Among some of the highlighted dates:
• Jan. 1, 2023: An intramural basketball league for students, faculty and staff will be offered; and the Student Government Association will be relaunched.
• April 2023: A cross-campus committee to review and recommend a new Learning Management System to Bloomberg will be formed.
• June 30, 2023: Current degree and certificate programs will be reviewed and at least one degree or certificate program will be added if sufficient demand exists.
• Dec. 31, 2024: A model for the classroom of the future, including the use of virtual and augmented reality tools, will be developed.