Carroll College is spending $2.8 million to make the campus more energy efficient, but if things go according to plan, the upgrades won’t cost Carroll a cent.

The money will be used to replace boilers in three buildings, upgrade lighting and plumbing fixtures and controls across campus and install a backup fuel system that will give Carroll access to lower natural gas prices.

And if the promised energy savings don’t materialize, then the company contracted to design and install the improvements, Johnson Controls, will make up the difference.

“We’re taking steps now to ask how can we meet sustainability goals, while at the same time improving the economics of the college,” said Carroll president Thomas Trebon.

Johnson Controls, which has worked with Carroll in the past on other efficiency initiatives, offers a performance contract that says the savings Carroll realizes from the improvements will total more than the $2.8 million Carroll is spending to make them.

“Sustainability. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about,” said Mark Martinez, a regional executive with Johnson Controls. “This is about helping Carroll College reduce their carbon footprint and becoming better stewards of the environment by replacing old equipment with modern technology.”

Carroll hopes to use Lewis and Clark County’s bonding authority to secure a favorable rate, borrowing $2.8 million with a 15-year term.

In rough figures, the college’s current utility bills total around $1 million a year. Johnson Controls estimates that the changes it implements will knock that down to $800,000 (in 2008 dollars), and Carroll can use the remaining $200,000 to retire the debt. At the end of 15 years, if the savings haven’t materialized, the firm makes up the difference.

Tom McCarvel, Carroll’s vice president for community relations, said prospective students are increasingly interested in what colleges are doing to reduce energy use and increase sustainability.

“The big global perspective is this is something everybody’s got to take seriously. Our students come here expecting things to be taken as environmentally sensitive,” McCarvel said.

Beyond that, keeping energy bills in check will help the college do the same with tuition.

“Everybody’s worried about tuition costs, and to keep the spiraling in check somehow is everybody’s business,” he said.

New boilers will be installed in Guadalupe, O’Connell and Borromeo halls. Facilities director Butch Biskupiak said the current units range from 35 to 50 years old.

Lighting and bathroom fixtures will be upgraded, and some controls will be upgraded as well. For instance, rather than a single light switch controlling every light in the P.E. Center, a series of switches will allow just one end of the basketball court to be illuminated if that’s the only part of the space in use.

Natural gas currently accounts for more than 60 percent of Carroll’s utility costs. By installing a propane backup system, Carroll can qualify for a lower gas rate from NorthWestern Energy, and the utility can ask Carroll to volunteer to suspend gas service at times of high gas demand elsewhere or for other reasons.

Johnson Controls has similar contracts in place around Montana, including with the Helena Housing Authority, but officials said this is the firm’s first higher education job in the state. Nationally, the company currently has more than $3 billion in performance guarantees in place.

“We think down the road it’s a great tool for recruitment,” Biskupiak said. “Students are so much more knowledgeable about sustainability.”

Work is expected to begin later this summer and be complete by late fall. Johnson Controls will handle some of the construction and contract with local firms for the rest.

Reporter John Harrington:

john.harrington@helenair.com or 447-4080.