Boston Properties Limited Partnership
At a Glance
Industry
Real Estate
Project Types
Clean and Renewable Energy, Commercial Energy Efficiency
Year
2017
Location
Boston, MA
Summary
Amy Jacks worked with regional engineering teams to identify and advance energy conservation measures.
Goals
Boston Properties, Inc. ("BXP"), a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT), is one of the largest owners, managers, and developers of Class A office properties in the United States, with a significant presence in five markets: Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. BXP enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Amy Jacks to support enterprise-level energy management activities. Jacks was tasked with creating a 2017 Energy Conservation and Cost Control Plan (EC+CCP) to inform investment decisions that cost-effectively reduce energy consumption. Since 2008, BXP has reduced actively managed office energy use intensity by 19.8%.
Solutions
Working alongside a number of internal teams, Jacks collected and analyzed energy use data from properties across regional portfolios. She identified both asset specific and general recommendations, including lighting, HVAC and energy storage systems. In particular, lighting retrofit and control energy conservation measures were identified that provide short payback periods and scalability across the portfolio. Other capital intensive projects that would have a large impact on BXP’s grid supplied energy consumption were analyzed, including cogeneration, battery storage and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.
Potential Impact
Over 20 years, the projects summarized by the 2017 Energy Conservation and Cost Control Plan could save BXP over $17 million in net operating costs and over 10 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. In aggregate, the recommended energy conservation measures have a payback period of 4.1 years and approximately $727,583 of available incentive funds were identified to offset initial cost. The report meaningfully contributes to BXP’s understanding of available energy conservation opportunities and will help position the company an energy efficiency leader within the real estate industry over the years to come.