An innovative bit of financing is paying dividends for the University of Northern British Columbia's energy conservation efforts.
Since 2012, such projects as the energy-efficient LED street lights installed on campus in 2015, and the conversion from electric to hot water heating in the Neyoh residence have been funded by a $250,000 "revolving loan."
In essence, it's a line of credit that provides the capital to finance energy projects on campus, and is repaid through the project-enabled cost savings.
Eighty per cent of the energy cost savings of a project are used to replenish the loan, until the project costs have been repaid. After it has been repaid, payments continue at 50 per cent of the energy cost savings for the lifetime of the project.
For example, the campus street lighting upgrades are reducing the university's electricity bill by more than $20,000 per year, where $16,000 is returned to the revolving loan, resulting in net savings of $4,000 for the university.
The revolving loan has funded a range of projects, from small LED lighting upgrades for the Teaching Lab fish tank to large optimization projects for the heating and ventilation systems in the lab buildings.
"The revolving loan has allowed us to fund more than 20 energy projects costing more than $1 million," said UNBC's energy technician Amanda Drew. "We have seen tremendous energy and cost savings since the revolving loan became available, and these savings are growing exponentially."
The loan was made available by the university to the Energy Management Team in 2012
