Extensive Public Works Program Expected to Improve City Infrastructure and Save More Than $1.5 Million Per Year in Energy, Water Costs
MILPITAS, Calif. and HOUSTON, May 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The City of Milpitas announced today that it has begun construction on a comprehensive Smart City energy and water savings program with ENGIE North America, an energy leader accelerating North America’s transition toward a carbon neutral economy. Approved by Milpitas’ City Council, the city will upgrade infrastructure and install energy and water conservation measures that are expected to reduce utility consumption by more than 4.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year which is expected to save more than $1.5 million in energy and water costs per year, for a net lifetime savings of over $30 million.
The extensive program includes over 200 kilowatts of solar; an energy storage and microgrid solution for backup power at the Milpitas Senior Center and Milpitas Community Center; 15,600 advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) water meters with leak detection; 2,185 LED streetlight retrofits; 4,453 streetlight controls upgrades with outage detection; City-wide LED lighting upgrades in parks, sports fields, City buildings, and community facilities; water, wastewater, and stormwater management automation; touchless efficient water fixtures; and electric vehicle charging stations.
“The goal of the City’s energy and water savings program is to upgrade critical infrastructure with an eye on three major pillars: economic benefits, environmental benefits, and human benefits. Through this program, we will leverage guaranteed energy and water savings to pay for the program and save the City money, while reducing our energy and water usage, improving community safety, and enhancing building comfort and usability,” said Mayor Rich Tran from the City of Milpitas. “The City of Milpitas is proud of our continued commitment to fiscal and environmental stewardship and this comprehensive Smart Cities program will showcase Milpitas as a responsible and innovative community.”
The program is designed to bolster community outreach around sustainability issues and climate action and provides the City with a dedicated AmeriCorps CivicSpark fellow for one year. To fund the project, the city will use State incentives for battery energy storage, resiliency funds from Silicon Valley Clean Energy, AMI funding from Valley Water, water bonds and low-interest lease revenue bonds. The energy and water savings will allow the program to more than pay for itself.
“ENGIE is delivering a comprehensive, customized Smart City solution and helping the City of Milpitas to define its future as a sustainable and resilient place to live,” said Courtney Jenkins, a General Manager and Vice President at ENGIE North America. “ENGIE North America will deliver a sophisticated bundling of energy and water conservation measures expected to reduce utility consumption and advance the City’s climate ambitions.”
Click here for more information on the City’s sustainability plans.
About the City of Milpitas
Located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay, Milpitas is a progressive community that is an integral part of Silicon Valley. A full-service city with water utility, sewer utility, police and fire services, Milpitas celebrates a diverse population of nearly 80,000. Under a Council-Manager form of government, the City Council has established the following seven priority areas of service and policy: public safety, environment, transportation and transit, economic development and job growth, neighborhoods and housing, community wellness and open space, and governance and administration. For more information visit: www.ci.milpitas.ca.gov.
About ENGIE North America
ENGIE North America Inc. offers a range of capabilities in the United States and Canada to help our customers achieve their sustainability goals as we work together to shape a sustainable future. Our comprehensive services include helping run facilities more efficiently and optimize energy and other resource use and costs; clean power generation; energy storage; and retail energy supply that includes renewable, demand response, and on-bill financing options. Nearly 100% of the company’s power generation portfolio is low-carbon or renewable. ENGIE S.A. is a global organization focused on low-carbon energy and services, that relies on its key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to its customers. With 170,000 employees, along with its customers, partners and stakeholders, the group is committed to accelerating the transition to a carbon-neutral world through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally-friendly solutions.
For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, https://www.engie-na.com/ and https://www.engie.com.
Media Contacts:
City of Milpitas: Charmaine Angelo, cangelo@ci.milpitas.ca.gov, (408) 906 9603
ENGIE North America: Sandrine Deparis, sandrine.deparis@engie.com, (202) 855 3705
SOURCE ENGIE North America
Image Source: https://www.ci.milpitas.ca.gov/planning-documents/midtown-specific-plan/
