NEWPORT NEWS, Va. & HAMPTON ROADS, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Balfour Beatty Communities, a national residential real estate investment and management company, and ENGIE Services U.S., a subsidiary ENGIE North America (ENGIE), a leading low-carbon energy and services provider, recently completed more than $12 million in energy efficiency improvements to more than 1,000 homes at Fort Eustis and Fort Story, Virginia. The project, which leveraged private capital, brings modernized fixtures and systems to the homes, reducing energy consumption and streamlining related maintenance services while continuing to improve the living experience for military families. This successful project is another example of the benefits realized through the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI).
“We are proud to have completed this project, which improves critical systems in the homes of military families at Fort Eustis and Fort Story,” said Mark Lavin, executive vice president for Balfour Beatty Communities. “Our work with ENGIE is making these military housing communities more resilient and is generating utility savings that will be used to further improve these homes as part of our long-term reinvestment effort.”
The project delivered turnkey energy and water efficiency improvements through a self-funding Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC), including:
- 77,000 energy-efficient lighting and fixture upgrades
- 475 high-efficiency heat pump systems
- 995 smart home thermostats
- 1,500 bathroom humidistats
- Water conservation fixtures including 4,500 faucet aerators in bathrooms and kitchens, 2,700 low-flow toilets and 1,800 shower heads
- More than 900 homes received weatherization updates to the building envelope, including energy-efficient exhaust vent caps amongst other upgrades
The new HVAC systems reduce the carbon footprint of Balfour Beatty housing installations while making homes more comfortable to live in, reducing mechanical outages, and standardizing equipment across the portfolio to reduce operating and maintenance costs. These upgrades are expected to reduce residential consumption by approximately 3,286,588 kWh/year in electricity, 857 CCF/year in natural gas, and 21,284,200 gal/year in water.
“This project helps enhance the living conditions of our military families while supporting President Biden’s executive order to tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad. Simultaneously, we were able to support the Army’s Climate Strategy by reducing Green House Gas emissions at Fort Eustis and Fort Story by over 2,000 metric tons,” said Brad Boerger, ENGIE’s vice president of business development.
Together with the U.S. Army, Balfour Beatty is strengthening sustainability and resiliency with projects that enhance its military housing communities. The ESPC initiative also supports the Department of Defense’s goal to provide 100% of the energy load required by each U.S. military installation by 2030 through investments in sustainability initiatives like energy efficient housing and renewable energy generation.
Balfour Beatty and ENGIE are continuing to expand the ESPC initiative with several new projects across Balfour Beatty Communities’ military housing portfolio in various stages of evaluation, approval and implementation.
About Balfour Beatty Communities
Balfour Beatty Communities is an active owner and operator of residential real estate in the multifamily, student and military housing sectors across the United States. Since its inception in 1999, Balfour Beatty Communities has invested in nearly 100 properties representing more than $7.9 billion of gross asset value. Our broad in-house expertise includes decades of acquisition, development, finance, renovation, leasing and property/facility management experience. Leveraging this extensive expertise and a customer service-focused approach, Balfour Beatty Communities seeks to create value in its real estate projects while delivering exceptional living experiences. For more information, visit balfourbeattycommunities.com.
Balfour Beatty Communities is a subsidiary of Balfour Beatty Investments, Inc. and Balfour Beatty plc, a leading international infrastructure group.
About ENGIE North America
Based in Houston, Texas, ENGIE North America Inc. is a regional hub of ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy and services. ENGIE (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges. Together with our 170,000 employees around the globe, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are committed to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally-friendly solutions. Inspired by our purpose (“raison d’être”), we reconcile economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on our key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to our customers. In North America, ENGIE helps our clients achieve their energy efficiency, reliability, and ultimately, their sustainability goals, as we work together to shape a sustainable future. We accomplish this through: energy efficiency projects, providing energy supply (including renewables and natural gas), and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets (wind, solar, storage and more). 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.
