Gazette reports on infrastructure agreement

The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette wrote a story about the energy saving-upgrades coming to campus, “Cornell College gets millions in upgrades without spending more,” which was published in the Sept. 1, 2019, issue of the paper.

Engineers from Johnson Controls targeted several areas of campus infrastructure in need of repair, which will result in a 20% reduction in energy usage across campus. The work will include installing high-efficiency boilers to remove the final eight buildings from the campus steam plant, putting in new windows on two buildings (Old Sem and College Hall), and upgrading nearly every campus building with LED lighting. 

Johnson Controls sets up a contingent payment program with the college, which is an alternative to traditional debt financing and does not impact existing debt obligations. The contingent payment program agreement guarantees that the infrastructure upgrades will produce savings that repay Johnson Controls for the project costs over the next 18 years.

 “It’s much like buying a really great car, where you might be done after those 18 but you’re going to go for another 50 years of savings after those 18 years,” President Jonathan Brand told The Gazette. “This car is going to keep on running.