URI entered into an $18 million energy performance contract in 2007 with NORESCO, one of the nation’s leading energy services companies. The program was designed to reduce the University’s energy usage. NORESCO guaranteed that energy savings from the improvements during the three-year contact would pay for the entire project in a dozen years.

So far, so great! Here’s a sample of yearly savings: 8.6 million per kilowatt hours, 14,500 gallons of fuel oil, 7.7 million cubic feet of natural gas, 54 million pounds of steam, and 7.9 million gallons in water and sewage. All of this was accomplished by the installation of:

• 15,000 new light fixtures
• 68,000 energy efficient light bulbs
• Lighting sensors throughout the Kingston Campus
• 3,000 steam traps to limit steam waste and provide more consistent heat
• Energy efficient air conditioners in the Memorial Union and Coastal Institute
• A new heating system in the Horn Building, Bay Campus
• Major HVAC changes, including seven new air-handling units in the athletic center
• New windows in Keaney Gym
• Updated energy management controls in more than 100 buildings
• 2,000 water saving fixtures in residence halls

As a result, the University’s carbon footprint has gotten smaller—we’ve reduced our carbon dioxide emissions by more than 18 million pounds. URI estimates it saved $1.6 million for the July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 year—when the project was only 75 percent complete–and estimates that it will save $30 million in 12 years.