What If There Actually Was A Magic, Energy-Project Fairy For Larger American Commercial, Municipal & Industrial Customers?

Article By: Heidi Fritz Martinez CEO of Re-Motor America

#Confessions of a Motor Gal

So truth be told, I spent most of my energy efficiency career as a total exclusive advocate of utility rebate programs. As a Rebate and Partnerships Coordinator, I would wait the countless hours helping customers find their utility rep and apply for rebates. (Utility Account Reps are almost exclusively for customers who are power users of 250 kW+ and above. (The big to mega shark guys with some exceptions))

We would compile the information from the audit, complete the several steps to pre-approval and the dreaded F word of the energy efficiency industry would creep up time and time again. The one thing that has killed more energy projects then anything else combined in fiscal budget meetings. What is simple answer?: MONEY.

So unless you have been under a rock some where News Flash! A lot of American Commercial, Industrial & Municipal facilities are struggling to keep functioning and compete with China let alone spend a couple of cool, hard earned millions on their energy projects.

Some bigger guys have a footprints of more than 100 properties across the country so they need a wide-scale solution for all facilities that doesn't fit the utility by utility model.

Worse, some territories do not even offer rebates or the rebates are so low they do little to change the Project Return on Investments.

Let's face it: Even if your company has the money, it may not be enough of a priority (with everything else to consider) to put reducing carbon footprints anywhere near the top or in many cases on any line items in company/factory/town budgets.

So customers with $10,000 to several million potentials in annual savings opportunities would get stuck in the budget meeting moment for 1 year, 5 years or would never complete them at all. Even though the proposed were well proven technologies.

In addition, some rebate programs also have pre-approval and installation time limits so waiting the year or 5 years may be like getting kicked back to level one in a video game.

The clock would tick, their utility rates would raise and then they would come to me and say:

"About that project we were going to do together 5 years ago..."

My reply would always be the same:

"Yeah, well XYZ company/factory/town: In the past 5 years since I heard from you you threw away $50,000, $400,000, $10 million dollars in unnecessary electricity costs and that is assuming your utility costs stayed roughly the same!

That is a lot of money!

Whatever the number is in lost potential, there is a giant cost in delaying projects. That money would have been a nice chunk of change which could have been used for almost anything else: hiring new staff, executing company/facility upgrades, research and development, company training/outings or even bonuses that are almost non existent in companies now. The key words being would have been. It was instead spent in wasted in energy costs due to facility inefficiency but by not installing the projects the money was just paid to the power bill instead.

Now I am going to veer slightly off topic but I hope you will see my point and then I will connect the two ideas.

When I was a kid, I always wished someday I could own an amusement park, (I mean who doesn't?) Then when faced with the reality of it: The costs, the maintenance, the insurance, the monitoring & etc. I decided that even if I ever had the money, I may just leave it up to the big amusement park guys who have it figured out. So instead of doing that, I am more than happy to pay the annual or monthly membership fee to a very popular New England spot because: they do all that for me.

So here is the good news and where it all comes together. Here is the one thing I had been searching for the entire time I did this work before Re-Motor America. I think I finally found The Money Guys whom I jokingly call the "Daddy Warbucks" looking for orphan Companies/Factories/Towns to help with energy projects off balance sheet."

Here is how it works:

You apply to their program following their guidelines for proven technologies, energy projects ROIs and of course apply for credit.

(This solution can even be used with or without a rebate program. Please note: Utilities and other programs have their own applications but this can offset some of the shared costs.)

They buy the equipment, own it, install, maintain it and take care of it over the agreed terms. Some projects they even pay for a service/maintenance contract of the equipment!

So, you get to have the benefit but you don't have to add that to your growing list of facility tasks or take one penny out of your current budgets.

Even if you own more than one facility but similar equipment/usages in each one? Apply for them all at once or bulk them in batches this is a very viable way to get them done!

No, it isn't free but they split the savings with you over the agreed terms. Then after the agreement is over you can rinse and repeat with new technology or just end the contract.

Here are the easy math breakdowns for illustration:

Let us look at the cost of not doing the project over 5 years:

Hypothetical Project A: $100,000 a year calculated and verified savings. Not done over 5 years that is $500,000 dollars in wasted energy and excess power consumption costs. (Not even taking into account the demand kW hikes.) Total loss: $500,000. Period.

Let us look at the cost of doing the project with shared savings over 5 years:

Hypothetical Project B: $100,000 a year in energy savings calculated and verified. Done upon rebate approval for a savings of $500,000 over 5 years. Shared savings in this option leaves you with $250,000 over 5 years you would never have without the energy equipment installed. (Plus someone else is responsible for the ownership and maintenance.)

Certainly if you have the money, pay for the project yourself or the project is too small for their option, pay for the project get back the rebate if your eligible, kick up your heels enjoy!

However, for many direct end user companies/factories/towns this is a very viable option! Even if you are an energy rep, engineer, facilities guy, or the like who has customers who has a customer that needs help. There are plenty of technologies they help fund beyond! So Apply!

You are in the driver's seat of your energy efficiency decisions and our goal at Re-Motor America is American Company/Factory/Town Empowerment.

So if you are interested in further information please feel free to contact me:

[email protected] or direct message on Linked In.

Motor Namaste