Kevin Bernier, CEM, LEED AP, CCP, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Fort Hill Companies, presented at GLOBALCON 2015: Strategies to Meet the Next Generation of Energy Challenges. The national conference of the Association of Energy Engineers was designed to facilitate those seeking to expand their knowledge of fast-moving developments in the energy field, explore promising new technologies, compare energy supply options, and learn about innovative and cost-conscious project implementation strategies.
Kevin presented together with Jenna Ide, AICP, LEED AP, Deputy Director of Energy for the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Innovative Accelerated Energy Program.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been ranked the top state in the nation for energy-efficiency policies and programs by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) for the last 4 consecutive years (2011 - 2014). A major contributor to this remarkable success has been the Commonwealth’s Accelerated Energy Program or AEP.
The AEP was established in December 2011 as a bold 3-year program to greatly accelerate the implementation of energy and water savings projects across ALL state facilities in the state, which totaled 700 sites and over 5,000 buildings.The AEP was budgeted at $450 million, with plans to reduce annual energy consumption by $40 million or 20-25% reduction across all facilities. In addition, the AEP planned to create or sustain about 4,000 clean energy jobs. The portfolio of 700 facilities includes a range of building types including hospitals, colleges, research facilities, prisons, highway depots, parks and recreation facilities and more.
Kevin and Jenna presented the challenges, successes and future plans of the AEP, including:
• New procurement and contracting approaches including ZNEB for deep energy retrofits and Utility Vendor contracting for small sites
• New financing mechanisms including revolving loans and new “Clean Energy Investment Program” that uses state bonding authority to finance efficiency projects paid for out of savings by each agency
• Innovative energy technologies, energy conservation measures and retro commissioning
• Emerging field of energy data management for a portfolio of facilities, including enterprise energy monitoring and reporting
• Renewable energy installations including biomass, anaerobic digestion and PV
• Technical support to facility managers and stakeholders.
• Actions that increased minority and women participation as employees and business enterprises.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Jenna Ide, AICP, LEED AP
Jenna Ide is the Deputy Director of Energy for the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), and the operational lead of the AEP. DCAMM manages construction and real estate for over 80 million sq. ft. of state buildings and associated land. Jenna has worked at DCAMM for 10 years, managing $400 million in energy and water conservation projects, sustainable design, the Clean Energy Investment Program, Demand Response and Zero Net Energy Buildings. Jenna received her Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Resources Studies from UMass Amherst and received her Master’s from Cornell University in Regional Planning with a focus on Environmental Planning.
Kevin Bernier, CEM, LEED AP, CCP
Kevin Bernier is the COO of Fort Hill Companies with 25 years of experience in the planning and management of $10 billion in capital asset and energy management programs across the country. He is a recognized leader in the development of innovative technologies and energy management solutions. Kevin is the full-time program management consultant of the AEP responsible for master planning, program controls, towards zero net energy, and support to all aspects of program implementation.