In January 2022 the Mecklenburg County Asset and Facility Management Department partnered with 2KB Energy Services, LLC (2KB) to develop a Master Plan for a deep energy retrofit project for the lowest-performing county-owned facilities. 2KB assembled a team of energy engineers and modelers to assess facility conditions and develop a Deep Energy Retrofit Master Plan that will substantially reduce on-site energy and carbon usage by 40%. The team analyzed Mecklenburg’s 40 facilities, benchmarking their energy use performance against their peers, and selected 22 facilities that were underperforming and in need of a deep energy retrofit analysis.

To create the Plan, the 2KB team observed operations and took inventory of facility equipment, focusing on energy-consuming equipment, reviewed past drawings and documentation, and researched innovative pathways to decarbonize the facilities.

Based on the quantitative data and qualitative observations, the team prepared advanced energy models that analyzed both equipment upgrades (“Retrofit Measures”) and programming changes (“Efficiency Measures”) to reduce energy consumption. The final Plan included construction cost estimates, federal tax incentives, utility rebates, and prioritization of projects for implementation with the objective of completing all construction retrofits by 2035.

The incremental cost for all of the energy-efficient equipment proposed in this study adds up to approximately $12.5M and reduces carbon emissions by 45%.

Energy savings from implementation of the recommended measures will reduce energy consumption at selected facilities to 91,382,214 (kBtu/yr) and reduce the net carbon emissions to 7,284,196 (kgCO2e/yr) representing a 50% reduction in energy use and a 45% reduction in carbon emissions. The 2KB team exceeded the goal of identifying a 40% reduction in emissions and delivered a robust and realistic pathway for the County to significantly decarbonize its building portfolio.