Why was the initial decision made to pursue an energy performance contract?
When I started in 1989, opportunities for energy conservation at EIU were apparent. But there were funding challenges back then. If an initiative didn’t show a drop dead payback, it would not be considered for funding. There was a need to find alternative ways to finance energy upgrades. I found that the concept of energy performance contracting might fill that need. I give a lot of credit to the staff under [former] Governor Jim Edgar. Back in the early 90s, the Governor’s Pilot Initiative Program for Energy Conservation was launched. The aim of the initiative was to ask a select group of state facilities to participate in an initial performance contracting program to demonstrate the viability of the concept for other institutions. My contacts at the state level recognized my interest in energy conservation on behalf of EIU. So, in 1994 the staff charged with managing the program for the governor called to ask if I would be interested in having EIU participate as the first Illinois hi
