EnergyLink recently helped Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) carry out a $3.2 million energy efficiency renovation on their Oxford Vista campus. After EnergyLink installed one of the largest solar arrays in the City of Aurora along with other critical energy improvements, the 31-acre, AmeriCorps NCCC-occupied campus is now able to reach near net zero electric: a rare feat for campuses of this size. 

ULC tasked EnergyLink to implement long-term sustainable solutions specifically designed to help reach their net zero electric goal and update their 1960's built campus. 

"The environmental impact of the improvements, upgrades, and installations made will bring this outdated and inefficient property up to the highest of energy standards, even compared to new construction," said Chris Ihler, CEO and Co-Founder of EnergyLink.

"ULC and Oxford Vista's strong desire to be more sustainable is at the core of the project. EnergyLink supports this worthy goal by providing strong economic results and a holistic approach to energy management."

WATCH THE STORY BEHIND THE PROJECT

The onsite 440 kW solar (PV) array will support yearly electric needs of the campus, while achieving near net-zero electric consumption. It is made up of a 350 kW ground mount PV farm and a 90 kW covered solar carport. The ground mount array is uniquely positioned on top of an underground geothermal bore field, which will feed a 100-ton Daiken water-cooled VRV system. A host of other thermal boundary, lighting, and HVAC improvements were also made.

EnergyLink's team focused on reducing the coincident peak load of the facility, which will decrease electric costs and local grid stress from the campus' operations. In total, the project will offset 81% of the campus' electric use and 29% of its natural gas use, with an impressive total energy reduction of around 46%.

Overall, this holistic energy project is expected to save 780,000 kilowatt-hours of energy, which is equivalent to removing 1,214,747 pounds of CO2 emissions per year. EnergyLink's Oxford Vista Case Study explains in-depth the services carried out to achieve these savings. 

EnergyLink | goenergylink.com