Realty Operations Group – Santiago Herrera – 2017

Goals 

Realty Operations Group, a leading property management company, enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Santiago Herrera to help update its energy and conservation master plan, review all local law compliance information and streamline asset management energy reporting processes. The company was also interested in exploring opportunities in battery storage—or other onsite power generation—as well as improving energy use reporting. 

Solutions

Hererra benchmarked current energy consumption in each of the buildings by using a combination of the company’s energy management software as well as on-site walk throughs with consultants. Working with the consultants, he identified a staged set of projects that could achieve significant reductions in both operational expenses and carbon emissions for the buildings. Hererra developed a three-stage engineering and financial strategy that encourages the use of current rebates and tax implications. Working off an energy storage model that the consultants developed, Hererra analyzed its components and recommended improvements, such as including technologies that have the potential to yield far better financial results. He supported the energy conservation engineering team on other projects, such as water leakage control in residential buildings and an energy demand management program for multifamily residential buildings. 

Potential Impact

Over their lifetime, Herrera’s recommended projects have the potential to offset 11,720 metric tons of CO2, equivalent to removing over 1,200 cars off the road. For the company, this would generate a 20 year NPV of more than $8.5 million and an IRR of 22.72% with a simple payback period of 5 years, resulting in annual savings of roughly $2.2 million.