Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Department of Engineering Director Phillip Scott, PE, CME, announced today that the city of Newark, New Jersey, and Honeywell, a global leader in connected buildings, will partner in an energy savings improvement project to help the city save money and taxpayer dollars.

Honeywell was selected as the city's Energy Services Company and will lead a program to upgrade building infrastructure in 17 facilities – from City Hall to Symphony Hall – and help cut the city's annual energy operating costs by an estimated 36 percent with a potential savings of nearly $1 million a year.

This is part of the Department of Engineering's commitment to Newark's Sustainability Action Plan, aimed at making Newark healthier, greener and more vibrant through various citywide sustainability programs. The Honeywell-led facility upgrades are being funded with a $2.3 million rebate from the New Jersey Clean Energy Program and a 20-year, $15.4 million energy savings service contract. The contract enables the funding of the upgrades with annual energy and operational savings resulting from the project work. Honeywell guarantees the savings, eliminating the need for upfront capital investment and making it a self-funding project over the contract term.

"We believe that everyone in our community has the right to a clean and healthy environment to live, work and play," said Newark Mayor Baraka. "We understand how important it is for cities to lead the movement for climate action, energy equity and cleaner air. This is why Newark is committed to doing our part by developing solutions, implementing programs and working with partners like Honeywell to help us achieve energy savings, reduce greenhouse gases and pollution, and bring quality of life benefits home to Newarkers."

Honeywell is contracting with many local resources to complete the work, with approximately 40 percent of the project labor coming from Newark residents.

As part of the project, Honeywell's work aims to:

• Implement three cogeneration plants to enable the city to generate on-site electricity and heat simultaneously in two recreation centers and at the City Hall complex
• Modernize the existing City Hall complex central boiler plant
• Replace failed steam traps and missing pipe insulation on steam distribution systems to reduce thermal energy losses
• Upgrade lighting with more energy-efficient LEDs
• Install energy-efficient control solutions, such as room occupancy sensors to automatically turn lights off when areas are unoccupied, and install thermostatic valves on radiators to reduce steam consumption
• Install a comprehensive Building Management System (BMS) platform that allows building managers to monitor and control multiple buildings from a central location
• Integrate the city's HVAC and building systems into the BMS for city personnel to better monitor and manage systems under a unified platform
• Install a citywide solution to reduce desktop computer electric power consumption
• Improve building envelopes to better maintain conditioned air in facilities
• Install electric and gas sub-meters on buildings to more accurately monitor and manage energy use

"As someone who was born and raised in the Ironbound section of Newark, this project is personally meaningful for me. I am extremely pleased that our energy efficiency rebate program is playing such a prominent role in a project that will not only save Newark money but also help the city meet its clean energy target," said Joseph L. Fiordaliso, president, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. "Thank you to Mayor Baraka for sharing my belief that there is no more important goal than working toward mitigating the impacts of climate change – with this project Newark is clearly on the right track."

The building infrastructure improvements are expected to be completed by end of 2019. When completed, the building upgrades aim to help Newark reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2,930 metric tons a year – equivalent to eliminating 564 cars from the road.

"Performance contracts are among the most valuable means to enable public entities with lean budgets to improve facilities and further sustainability," said Wayne Kent, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Building Solutions, Americas. "These projects can effectively pay for themselves with funding enabled through guaranteed savings. That's a win for both city leaders and their communities."

A global leader in energy-saving technology and services, Honeywell has completed approximately 6,000 guaranteed efficiency projects around the world, including upgrades at more than 150 U.S. government facilities and campuses. Combined, this work is expected to decrease customers' energy and operating costs by an estimated $6 billion.

This project would not have been possible without the collaborative teamwork and effort from the City of Newark Department of Finance, Department of Law, Office of Information Technology, Public Works, Public Safety, the Mayor's Office of Affirmative Action and Newark Symphony Hall.