The U.S. General Services Administration awarded a $183 million contract to Framingham, Mass.-based Ameresco Inc. to perform energy efficiency upgrades at the Denver Federal Center in Colorado, officials announced from GSA on January 13.
The work will involve the construction of a centralized geothermal heat pump system and the generation of solar energy on site. The geothermal probe field, with about 2,880 boreholes, and the solar array would be located on the same 27-acre parcel. The system would also require the construction of a pump house and three valve houses, along with piping to various buildings. GSA also plans building upgrades, such as window replacement.
The Denver Federal Center is a 623-acre site with dozens of buildings totaling more than 4 million square feet in Lakewood, Colo.
GSA officials did not share the capacity of the solar component, but said they expect it to be able to power about half of the campus. Together, they anticipate that the project will reduce the use of energy purchased from the grid by 51% and water by 10%, saving 24 GWh of electricity and 85,000 MMBtu of natural gas per year. That would save more than $2 million in energy costs in the first year alone, GSA said.
“This investment will not only improve the infrastructure of the Denver Federal Center, but also provide a solution that helps reduce the effects of climate change with products made here in America,” Denise Maes, GSA regional administrator, said in a statement .
Ameresco did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the project.
In addition to the environmental benefits, GSA officials say the improvements mitigate the risks of future fossil fuel price volatility.
GSA is funding the project in part with $140.2 million from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The legislation establishes $3.4 billion for GSA to fund projects that use low-carbon incorporated materials. Officials expect construction to take about two years, GSA records show.
The agency has been working toward a national goal of net zero emissions from the federal buildings it manages by 2045.
