A team from Dentons’ Montréal office, including Anca Neacsu and Mathilde Carrière, advised ENGIE Services in its role as operation and maintenance provider in a consortium selected for the operation of this comprehensive energy management project, which includes long-term operation and management on a concession basis of the University’s energy infrastructure.

ENGIE and its consortium partner, Axium Infrastructure US, won a 50-year concession valued at US$1.165-billion to address Ohio State University’s energy sustainability goals for its 485-building campus in Columbus, Ohio, one of the largest university campuses in the United States.

Signature elements of the comprehensive energy management project include:

    The operation and optimization of the university’s utility system, including energy conservation management services leveraging the existing system and development of future capital improvement projects to improve the university’s energy efficiency by 25 percent within 10 years; and
    The construction of a new energy advancement and innovation center for energy research and commercialization.

The center would create a living laboratory where faculty, students, alumni, entrepreneurs, industry experts and ENGIE researchers can collaborate on next-generation technologies and services in areas such as smart energy systems, renewable energy, and green mobility. The center will be ENGIE’s first research facility in North America, with connectivity across ENGIE’s worldwide research and industry network. The transaction reached successful financial close on July 6, 2017.