County energy overhaul to start this week

San Benito County starting Wednesday will under go a clean-energy overhaul with facilities, while supervisors hope long-term savings will more than make up for the $8 million cost of the program.
Public works official Adam Goldstone told supervisors the energy overhaul program will start Wednesday.
“You will see a lot of work beginning over the next week or so,” he told supervisors in their Tuesday meeting.
He noted there will be closures of parking areas at county facilities while undergoing the solar panel portion of the project first. Goldstone called it a “rather significant parking reduction” with the lot closed across the street from the administration building on Fourth Street and other parking areas closed nearby.
“Just plan ahead,” he said. “Come a little earlier.”
As for background on the energy program, supervisors in July approved a contract with ENGIE Services to provide energy services throughout San Benito County for $8,057,000. Over the 25- to 30-year life of the program, there’s hope the county can save more than $11.5 million through use of clean energy.
According to a staff report from the July approval: The Energy Conservation Measures (“ECM”) Project consists of the design, construction, installation, and monitoring of certain energy conservation measure improvements to various county facilities. The ECM Project will have substantial environmental benefits to help reduce the county’s carbon footprint. The ECM Project is projected to reduce the county’s electricity costs by approximately 80% and reduce emissions by approximately 2,100 metric tons of CO2 annually, which is equivalent to removing 450 cars off the road per year. The net savings after paying for all costs over the life of the project, estimated at 25 to 30 years, is $11,543,983.