McKinstry, a local energy and facility services firm, recently started work with Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) to improve energy usage at the organization’s facilities. The work is a result of the firm’s partnership with the City of Portland, where they were selected to serve as the energy services company (ESCO) in fall 2017.
McKinstry partnered with City of Portland on comprehensive energy audits to identify opportunities to increase energy efficiency within city-owned and operated facilities. The audits will serve as a key step for the city to achieve its 2030 Environmental Performance Objectives by establishing energy-use baselines from which to develop, implement and gauge the performance of recommended facility improvement measures.
“We applaud the City of Portland for its commitment to sustainability and are proud to be the city’s partner in achieving its long-term goals through the optimization of energy use in its facilities,” said Dale Silha, vice president of Pacific Northwest Energy and Technical Services at McKinstry.
The work for PP&R will be an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) focusing on identifying efficiency measures for approximately 15 percent of PP&R’s facilities. These facilities will include community centers, pools, playing fields, picnic fields, golf courses and a raceway. Additional project opportunities may be considered as performance is evaluated for the pilot project.
PP&R currently owns, maintains and manages more than 11,500 acres of land throughout the city, including more than 200 parks, 15 community and arts centers, Portland International Raceway, Portland Public Golf courses, sports fields, maintenance facilities and more. The bureau thus maintains a large amount of structures and systems which consume energy, and there are many opportunities to generate energy, as efficiency measures are implemented, and existing systems are optimized.