University of Hawaii Community Colleges and Johnson Controls officials announced yesterday the start of an energy efficiency and conservation program projected to save the university more than $58 million in energy and operational costs over the span of a 20-year performance contract. The company will also help develop a sustainability curriculum customized for students at four Oahu, Hawaii, campuses.
School officials will integrate several energy solutions designed to reduce the amount of electricity, water, wastewater and syngas the sites currently use. Solar hot water, energy-efficient air conditioning and lighting retrofits are among the solutions provided by the company. The project is expected to decrease use of kilowatt-hours by more than 6 million per year, which represents a reduction of approximately 23% of the current usage.
As part of the school’s conservation initiatives, the company will also develop a customized sustainability curriculum for each college in collaboration with university faculty. The curriculum will consist of sustainability and renewable energy modules designed to naturally incorporate conservation learning within major areas of study.
"This performance contact with Johnson Controls enables University of Hawaii Community Colleges to bring energy efficiency to our campuses in two critical and complementary ways," Vice President for Community Colleges John Morton said. "Our demand and usage of energy will decrease, and our students will benefit from global best practices as they train for the green-collar jobs of tomorrow."
Source: PR Newswire/Johnson Controls
