The Defense Department said it estimates the conservation project cost could total $24 million but the savings should easily exceed these costs over the life of the contract.
"The payback is normally six to 10 years," said Michael Castonguay, vice president of Northeast Energy Services Inc., which does business as Noresco.
The program will involve 2,000 buildings, including automotive, aircraft, communications and electronic maintenance shops and 3.9 million square feet of housing.
Noresco anticipates savings of 25 percent to 40 percent. Kaneohe Marine Base currently spends about $9 million a year for energy and water.
The federal Energy Policy Act of 1992 allows the government to enter into "energy savings performance contracts" where the private companies put up the money for the changes and get paid from the conservation savings. The act also calls for 30 percent energy savings at federal facilities by the year 2005.
The work at Kaneohe Marine Base and Camp Smith in Halawa Heights will be a first under the performance contracts in Hawaii, Castonguay said.
The Army Corps of Engineers in Huntsville, Ala. makes the initial selection of what military facilities should be done after requests are made by military base officials, said Bob DiMichele, public affairs officer at Huntsville.
Castonguay will be in Hawaii on Dec. 10 for the first meeting to plan the project. He anticipates actual changes at the Kaneohe and Camp Smith to start by March or April.
These will include more efficient lighting, motors, air conditioning, heat pumps and solar hot water heaters, and possibly photovoltaic panels, which capture energy from the sun to generate electricity.
"We'll take a look at photovoltaic. We have a PV contractor on our team," Castonguay said.
Bill Nutting, energy manager at Kaneohe Marine Base, said one possible photovoltaic use would be on the roof of the shed where they recharge the golf carts.
The contract is written for up to 25 years, but military officials can shorten the actual time Noresco spends on the job.
"Typically, there is a three-year period when most of these products are identified and installed," Castonguay said. Noresco normally remains on the job doing servicing for at least the time it takes to pay back the costs, he added.
Noresco is doing several other large military installations including the West Point Academy and the Walter Reed Medical Center, he said. The company was established in 1981 as a subsidiary of New England Electric Systems and was spun off as an independent company in 1990. It provides more than 600 clients with services that include energy consulting, electrical and mechanical engineering, and project management.