Boston Housing Authority

At a Glance

Industry

Public Housing Authority

Project Types

Clean and Renewable Energy, Commercial Energy Efficiency, Data Analysis, Financial Evaluation and Planning

Year

2018

Location

Boston, MA

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Net Present Value:

$24,500

Reductions icon

Annual CO2 Reductions:

35 metric tons

Summary

Ansha Zaman offered alternative energy technologies that could improve efficiency in Boston Housing Authority’s redevelopment projects and reduce operating costs.

Goals

Boston Housing Authority (BHA) provides affordable housing to residents in the City of Boston. In order to meet the part of their redevelopment mandate that stipulates reduction of yearly operating costs, BHA brought in EDF Climate Corps fellow Ansha Zaman to assist their energy management team in the following areas:

  • Evaluation of alternative energy technologies such as battery storage and cogeneration systems for installation at BHA sites undergoing redevelopment.
  • Assessment of and application for state/federal incentives that the alternative energy technologies are eligible for.

Solutions

Working with the BHA Energy Manager, Zaman evaluated and helped determine that two of three redevelopment sites offered a promising opportunity for solar + storage and a combined heat and power (CHP) system installation. She created a financial evaluation of that type of installation which indicates NPV in the order of $24,000 and a 9 year pay-back. Zaman also identified that the state Alternative Portfolio Standard incentives the new system would be eligible for could be as much as $6000. In addition to these evaluations, she also assisted in setting up BHA's new Better Buildings Challenge profile.

Potential Impact

If implemented, the redevelopment work will be featured in the new Better Buildings Challenge profile. The proposed solar + storage would have an NPV of $24,500, generate 63,000 kWhs of electricity annually and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 34 tons annually, over the lifetime of the system and the state incentives for CHP would garner annual revenue of $2000.

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