A new energy savings plan enacted by Ohio University could save the school up to $3 million per year in utility costs.

The $25 million performance contract pending with the Rose Technology Group Limited of Willowdale, Ontario, will work to improve OU's energy conservation and operations, said Sherwood Wilson, associate vice president for facilities and auxiliaries at OU. The terms of the contract should be finalized within the next month.

Under the terms of the contract, Rose Technology will make building-by-building assessments of the entire campus. The company then will make recommendations for renovations that will save the university money, Wilson said.

OU's administrators then have the choice to enact the renovations or wait until a later time.

A performance contract means that Rose Technology guarantees savings of $2.5 million to $3 million each year on energy costs. If the university does not save on utility bills, the company will pay the difference to the utility companies.

"Because Rose guarantees the amount of money OU saves, there is really no risk for us at this level," Wilson said.

The university hopes to begin the project by improving lighting systems across campus, which is one of the largest consumers of energy for the university, Wilson said.

Other energy conservation projects such as installing modern equipment and reducing the amount OU spends on utility costs each year will follow, he said.

"We want to provide the best possible environment to live, learn, work and play at OU," Wilson said.

This is a win-win situation for OU and Rose Technology, said Sarah Calderwood, energy awareness coordinator for the company.

Rose Technology is going to build on improvements that have already been started by the facilities management department at OU, Calderwood said. But a substantial amount of energy conversation work still needs to be completed.

OU chose Rose Technology after more than a year of evaluating more than a dozen international companies, Wilson said. The university's Board of Trustees gave its final go ahead for the project at its Oct. 8 meeting.

The company will work on the OU project from its Pittsburgh office, but an Athens office also will be established to oversee the work at the university, said David Robb, Rose Technology's project development manager. The company will use its own specialists along with local labor and contractors to complete the projects.

Trustee C. David Snyder said this contract demonstrates innovation on the part of the university.

"OU is truly thinking outside the box on this issue," he said.