Casino Reinvestment Development Authority

The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) Energy Savings Improvement Program (ESIP) project will deliver significant savings for CRDA and enable the Atlantic City Convention Center (ACCC) to operate independently of their previously expensive thermal and electric power purchasing agreements. Prior to the ESIP, ACCC had been purchasing Chilled Water and Hot Water from an off-site 3rd party and electricity from a roof-mounted solar array installed over 20 years ago. These contractual agreements had become more expensive than buying electricity from Atlantic City Electric or producing their own Hot & Chilled Water on-site. Funded as part of a larger $253,000,000 Luxury Tax Bond Refinancing, CRDA will be restoring the roof, installing 5 MW (DC) of their own PV Solar, and constructing a new Hot Water and Chilled Water Central Plant at ACCC.

An additional 3 MW (DC) of PV Solar will be installed at Boardwalk and West Hall. The CRDA facilities will also receive new LED lighting. CRDA’s experience with the annual escalation of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) and the financial impact of new benefits contained in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have made owning the Solar in lieu of a PPA viable for the ACCC and Boardwalk and West Hall. Significant savings and additional annual revenues through the SREC program presented a tremendous opportunity for CRDA to transform their operations at ACCC and to embrace the sustainable future it will deliver. DCO has designed and procured more than $16M worth of major mechanical and electrical equipment for the ESIP at the start of implementation due to long lead-times of various pieces of equipment so the project can be done on schedule. This unique and ground-breaking ESIP is scheduled for completion in 2027. DCO will implement a Competitive Edge component which will offer a Train-to-Hire approach for those community members interested in Building Trades.