DALLAS - TAC has been awarded a $1.2 million performance contract with the city of Harlingen, Texas, to design and construct energy conservation-related projects at 19 city facilities, as well as implement street and traffic light improvements citywide. The project will be funded through the resulting energy savings and utility company rebates.

Facilities involved in the contract include the City Hall, Harlingen Public Library, five fire stations, the municipal auditorium, the community center, a cultural center, the city museum, and other municipal service facilities. The TAC Vista® energy management system will be installed citywide to improve occupant comfort, reduce energy costs, and monitor and control the mechanical systems and energy consumption within all the facilities.

Energy conservation measures include retrofitting more than 2,000 of the facilities' lighting fixtures, replacing street lamps, and installing new traffic control lights in 74 intersections to provide the community with new, more energy efficient lighting. In addition, the City Hall will receive new HVAC equipment.

"This performance contract allows the city of Harlingen to make a variety of important infrastructure improvements that were recently in jeopardy when a city bond issue failed," said Dean Meyer, president of TAC Americas. "The program will be funded using guaranteed energy savings and utility company rebate dollars that are a direct result of the efficiency improvements implemented in this project. This means that no additional taxpayer funds are required. Besides reducing energy costs, these improvements will enhance the quality of lighting in the facilities, reduce deferred maintenance, and decrease the need for capital dollars in the future."

As TAC's first city performance contract in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, the installation is anticipated to take 12 months to complete. Annual projected savings resulting from the energy conservation measures range from $130,696 in each of the first five years to $115,196 during each of the following 10 years.

According to Dan Serna, environmental health and public buildings director, city of Harlingen, the new TAC Vista building controls will improve energy and operational efficiency for the city. "For example, currently, maintenance personnel are dispatched on weekends to turn on the air conditioning at buildings that have been rented to the public," he said.

"Furthermore, this technology gives the city the capability to schedule HVAC equipment to run as needed, instead of 24 hours a day."

For more information, visit www.tac.com.

Publication date: 03/22/2004