Liberty schools approve agreement with Guaranteed Clean Energy

Staff report

liberty

The Liberty Board of Education approved an agreement with Guaranteed Clean Energy for a project that intends to save the school district money after an initial investment.

GCE is a Columbus-based organization that assesses the energy infrastructure of a building, then creates a plan to upgrade the infrastructure.

The infrastructure upgrades will cost about $2 million, but school officials say it won’t cost taxpayers a dime because the savings generated will offset the cost.

The school board will decide by mid-January if it wants to include installing an all-weather field in place of the regular football field, which would cut down on maintenance and manpower costs.

If the school board decides not to install the new field, after the initial investment the district will save $3.1 million over 15 years and generate $1 million in additional cash flow.

If the district does install the field, GCE projects it could save $3.6 million and have an additional cash flow of almost $500,000.

The plan for the Liberty School District includes converting the old light bulbs to LED light bulbs, installing solar window films to trap heat, installing HVAC controls and building automation.

The project will take 10 to 12 months.