Energy as a Service: The Right Energy Solution for Your Campus Infrastructure?

Posted by Bryan Haag on Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Your campus energy infrastructure represents a significant capital investment that directly impacts both operational costs and organizational performance. While traditional approaches to energy infrastructure renewal and management have long been the standard across various sectors, a newer model—Energy as a Service (EaaS)—is emerging as a compelling alternative that merits evaluation in your campus energy strategic planning process.

Understanding Your Energy Service Options

The energy services landscape has evolved significantly. Let's explore three primary models that address different organizational needs and risk tolerances: Performance Contracts, Energy Savings Agreements, and Energy as a Service. Rather than dense tables of specifications, we'll examine how they compare across the factors that matter most to your bottom line and operational efficiency.

Why EaaS Deserves Consideration

EaaS offers strategic advantages for complex campus environments. Off-balance sheet treatment improves your financial position while preserving capital for core activities. When providers own equipment, they assume responsibility for maintenance, performance, and technology obsolescence—concerns that typically consume administrative resources and result in unpredictable capital expenditures.

Performance-based payments align provider interests with your operational goals measured through Key Performance Indicators. Unlike fixed schedules that continue regardless of performance, EaaS ties compensation to actual results, driving innovation and responsive service.

Individual Assessment Is Critical

EaaS isn't universally appropriate. Your facility's unique characteristics—existing infrastructure, energy patterns, financial policies, risk tolerance, and long-term plans—determine whether EaaS is optimal.

Facility age and condition significantly influence this decision. Newer facilities with recent equipment may not justify comprehensive service approaches, while aging campuses facing infrastructure renewal often find EaaS attractive. Organizations with skilled internal facilities teams might prefer direct control, while those lacking technical expertise benefit from transferring responsibilities to specialized providers.

Making Informed Decisions

Thorough evaluation of any energy service model’s viability requires examining both immediate financial implications and long-term operational considerations. How do different models align with your strategic goals? What energy management expertise exists within your staff? How important is predictable, performance-based pricing?

Performance Contracts excel when minimal upfront investment is a requirement and organizational capabilities fully support equipment ownership. Energy Savings Agreements provide middle-ground solutions with moderate risk sharing. EaaS delivers comprehensive solutions when off-balance sheet treatment, maximum risk transfer, and complete service integration are priorities.

Help! Where Do I Start?

As energy costs rise and the energy landscape continues to advance, understanding all available options becomes increasingly critical and yet ever more challenging. EaaS represents a significant evolution in campus energy infrastructure approaches, offering compelling advantages while requiring careful evaluation of individual circumstances; regardless of which financing model may prove suitable for your unique campus challenges, thorough analysis before committing to long-term relationships is crucial. The expert guidance of a qualified Energy Consulting Owner’s Representative—experienced in both the technical engineering of your systems as well as the successful oversight of projects that have followed these various energy project models—will prove invaluable to assess your specific situation, evaluate options objectively, and help structure the most appropriate solution.

If you have questions about evaluating energy solutions for your specific scenario or need guidance in identifying an approach that best serves your organization's goals, please reach out – our experienced Energy Engineering team is here to help you make informed decisions as you navigate your energy infrastructure.

 

Categories: Buildings & Campus

Tagged: Energy Planning & Management