Ameresco Expands Market Share in Ohio with New Energy Efficiency Project at Leading Vocational School

FRAMINGHAM, MA and OBERLIN, OH – December 5, 2012 – Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC), a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company, today announced that it has entered into an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) project with Lorain County Joint Vocational School (JVS).  As part of the contract, the school will leverage Ohio’s landmark energy conversation legislation (HB 264) to implement comprehensive energy conservation measures that are expected to save Lorain County JVS over $314,000 in energy and operational costs annually for the duration of the 15-year contract.

Without having to spend a dollar from its capital budget, the ESPC supports the Lorain County JVS’s efforts to be a good steward of their limited resources and address important facility needs.  The project will include improvements to facilities on the district’s 10-acre campus that houses both a Career-Technical High School and an Adult Career Center and serves more than 1,000 students annually.  Ameresco guarantees the energy cost savings for the duration of the contract.

“We are pleased that these improvements will reduce our carbon footprint, and the school district is expected to save approximately $26,000 per month in energy and operating costs. Also, Ameresco is turning this into an excellent student learning opportunity by directly involving our Building Trades students in various phases of the project,” said Jerry Pavlik, Deputy Superintendent of Lorain County Joint Vocational School.

The ESPC upgrades slated to be performed as part of the Lorain County JVS project will include the following:

• Comprehensive Lighting Program – new interior lighting and controls are expected to improve efficiency of lighting by 35-40 percent;
• Energy Management System – the integration of an industry-leading automation program for energy and environmental management;
• HVAC System Upgrades – completely re-designed heating plant with two new hot water condensing boilers that is expected to result in up to a 35 percent energy efficiency improvement and provide a reliable heating system;
• New Green Components – new LED lighting, a solar thermal hot water system, and a solar photovoltaic demonstration unit with a green kiosk (for student educational purposes) will be implemented.

“We are excited to start work on this project with Lorain County Joint Vocational School, which will take advantage of House Bill 264 to address much needed facility upgrades,” said Louis P. Maltezos, Executive Vice President of Ameresco.  “By using the budget neutral ESPC model, we will be able to help the school to continue to be good stewards of their taxpayers’ dollars and improve the learning environment for students in their school building while lowering the utility expenditure for Lorain County JVS by more than 30 percent.”

In addition to cost savings, the ESPC will also have environmental benefits to Lorain County by reducing the Joint Vocational School’s carbon footprint by an equivalent of 1,950 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of 382 passenger vehicles or the electricity use of 243 homes in one year.

Located in Oberlin, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland, Lorain County Joint Vocational School is one of the largest career-technical facilities in the state.  It serves adult populations and high school students from more than 13 area school districts that include Amherst, Avon, Avon Lake, Clearview, Columbia, Elyria, Firelands, Keystone, Midview, North Ridgeville, Oberlin, Sheffield-Sheffield Lake and Wellington.

Ameresco has a strong track record of partnering with school districts and educational institutions across the nation to help them apply their strained budgets wisely and facilitate needed improvements to their energy infrastructure.  The increasingly popular ESPC financing model allows the customer to immediately reap the benefits of increased energy efficiency in a budget-neutral manner by guaranteeing the energy savings will exceed the initial investment of the project.

About Ameresco, Inc.
Founded in 2000, Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) is a leading independent provider of comprehensive services, energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, asset sustainability and renewable energy solutions for facilities throughout North America. Ameresco’s services include upgrades to a facility’s energy infrastructure and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy plants. Ameresco has successfully completed energy saving, environmentally responsible projects with federal, state and local governments, healthcare and educational institutions, housing authorities, and commercial and industrial customers. With its corporate headquarters in Framingham, MA, Ameresco provides local expertise through its 63 offices in 34 states and five Canadian provinces. Ameresco has more than 900 employees. For more information, visit www.ameresco.com.