Interview with Nicole Bulgarino, Ameresco

Catherine: Hi, I’m Catherine McLean, Founder and CEO of Dylan Green. And today I have with me Nicole Bulgarino. She’s the executive vice president at Ameresco. She’s normally in Nashville, but today she’s in California, I believe, right?

Nicole: Correct, correct. pending some time on the West Coast.

Catherine: I hear there’s some stuff going on there with clean energy. I’m not sure if it’s true.

Nicole: Exactly, quite a lot.

Catherine: Quite a lot. So can you introduce us and tell us a bit more about yourself?

Nicole: Nicole Bulgarino, I have been in this industry, gosh, for close to probably 25 years plus now. So a long time and been proud to be part of it and watch the evolution of where we are in this industry. And when I went to get my degree in engineering, there was not even an energy program available at the time or even environmental for that matter. And so I chose chemical engineering as my degree to try to get to being able to do environmental in the future.
So glad to see that there’s now actual specific programs related to education in energy. But I’ve been here for a while, been with Ameresco for 20 years and just still love what I do. It’s been a really exciting career and doing exactly what I wanted to do plus a lot more. So that’s a good place to be in. And for our company, I head up, as Lela said, our federal and utility infrastructure solutions grid for the company.

Catherine: Great. And you mentioned you had a bachelor of science, chemical engineering and you began your career, I believe, as a process engineer with Raytheon. I’m very familiar with Raytheon. I live in Northern Virginia. So how did you eventually transition to the renewable energy industry? And then how did you focus on federal agencies in Ameresco specifically?

Nicole: Yeah, it’s a great question. I started out at Raytheon, which was from a background perspective and looking, reflecting back on your career was a perfect foundation job because at Raytheon, we developed processes and built them to make products that says like bleach activator and tide and being able to actually go through the thought process and all that you have to do to go from a thought to actually a design and then building it and then operating and all the different steps required to be able to make one ingredient for something that was just eye opening and so much more than education than even your school background.

So that was a great start. But in that time, it was also very up and down depending on a lot of market conditions and wanted to get to something a little bit more in the environmental field. And so I joined a small business, ESCO Energy Service Company back in ‘98. And we, the first jobs that we started doing we’re doing energy audits for the federal government. So we would go into military bases and do simple things like look at their lights, look at how their building controls were, give these presentations on how they could do immediate things to setbacks for energy savings. And it kind of started us in this path as a company to really engage the federal government into energy business through providing energy solutions for them.

Catherine: You currently oversee 320 people ranging from development engineering to O&M and you’ve overseen the development and implementation of over $3 billion of sustainable solutions in federal and government energy projects. What are some of the projects that you’re most proud of?

Nicole: Yeah, that’s a hard one because every project’s your favorite one and each one has their unique; but probably the one that I learned personally on the most and helped me be able to kind of grow into a bigger role at Ameresco is a project that we did for the Department of Energy at Savannah River Site. And this was unique in that it was a power plant that runs completely off of wood chips, biomass chips. And at the time the customer had a coal plant and they wanted to get the coal plant, decommission the coal plant and replace it with renewable fuels. And this is back in 2000. We started that project in like 2006 and then brought it online in 2012 and it’s been operating for the Department of Energy since then.

So we’re in our 12th year of operation. But for that project, it was great to be able to develop and design something that was all renewable and had so many different types of equipment from, if you can just think about bringing all these wood waste from the forest and making it possible that it can be usable, that you put into a boiler and then creating energy from it and then being able to deliver that energy, which for the site was critical steam, but then also produce power from that steam. So two different renewable energy sources there or power sources and thermal sources there for the site. So I’m very proud of that project. It was a lot of not, and also learning how to finance it and bring in creative ways to finance the project and being able to then oversee the implementation of it and watching it getting built and commissioned and help hire the operations team and just a lot of great elements of different parts of the business to beyond engineering alone. So that was one of my favorite ones and it’s even better because it’s still running and providing power and steam there. So that’ll always be a great highlight.

One of the other projects that we did back in 2016 timeframe was for Paris Island and that’s a Marine base on an Island in South Carolina where they get hit with bad weather and being on the coast. So that was one of the first projects at Ameresco that we put in a full microgrid system there. So for this project, what we did was build a power plant that’s a co-generation using gas turbine technology but we also incorporated a large solar field across places on the base, including carports, ground mount PV systems and incorporated a battery in there so that we could have this microgrid that goes in and seamlessly control where the power’s coming from for the base so that it’s always optimizing those assets, whether you’re trying to make the most use of solar assets because it’s there and it’s growing and then optimizing the battery with that and then having the power plant there to provide critical steam for that base and keeping it always online so when the utility is lost, it can still function. And that’s very critical for resiliency there given that it’s where it is on the coast there. That project’s been operating for four years now, I believe. So it was another really kind of first of its kind and it was, I think for me, the thing that made that very unique and fun to watch is just seeing it operate and the first sense of a microgrid and that there’s not operators going in there and trying to do all this optimization or trying to transition it when the grid goes offline. It’s just seamless. I mean, you wouldn’t even know where the power’s coming from just by looking at it, by just being there.

So, which is the intent of having the microgrid. So that was kind of, it was just, that was very fun and interesting to kind of watch that project and see it work. So those are just two examples of projects that we’ve done.

Catherine: Yeah I just really like these examples because it sounds to me like you’re just taking sort of like a blank sheet of paper and trying to come up with some sort of solution and sort of all the different technologies and what you should use. And it just sounds really fascinating.

Nicole: Yeah each one of them is kind of a blank canvas and a lot of times the customers do have certain ideas and certainly geography dictates where you’re gonna put solar at or where you’re gonna put a biomass plant. In the Southeast, you’re surrounded by great forests that have a lot of residues that serve a good purpose to be able to use those. So, and the also unique thing on the Parris Island project was that we were able to do energy efficiency measures as well which was an important part of that because we were bringing down the load of the base before we’re even putting in the solar or the cogeneration facility. So we’re doing the most important type of energy savings and clean energy and that’s just reducing their load. So it has been really great and it’s been fun in these later years to take that to a larger scale and do some of these utility scale projects on a larger level, like some of the Hawaii ones that we’re doing right now and the other projects that we have, so.

Catherine: Yeah, so we can talk, let’s dive into the Hawaii project. So I know Ameresco has recently worked with Hawaiian Electric on the Yuku Energy, 40 megawatt.

Nicole: Well, that’s a new one. So one of our, I guess the first one that we have done with Hawaiian Electric which I’m excited to say fingers crossed that are about to come online in a matter of days, weeks is at Kapuna Solar. And this project is a 42 megawatt solar system along with 168 megawatt hour of batteries so that it can take the energy produced by the solar system, store it and then be able to use it for the grid and on Oahu as the utility Hawaiian Electric needs to dispatch it. It’s great timing and needed there because this is an island that has limited power sources on it. They actually shut down their coal plant a couple of years ago too. So the amount of power needed is there and it’s clean energy. And the unique part about that project is that we did it in partnership with the Navy. So it’s Navy land, but it’s Navy land that’s not habitable. They store waste ammunitions over on that site. And so we can use the land around it that we built the solar system on and be able to provide an energy source. So it was an excess land the Navy had that we can make use of and also then provide power to a much needed island there on Oahu.

And similarly, we’re working with Hawaiian Electric on two new projects that we just were selected on for them. One in Maui and one on Oahu that are using firm energy. So the only difference for these projects is that they’ll be using engine technology that will make use of renewable diesel, biodiesel fuels and be able to provide 24 seven power versus the solar and battery that are only able to produce when the sun’s shining or storing energy. So those projects are exciting because they’re one, it’s a great way to see another way of clean energy, but more importantly, reliable firm energy, which is a little bit different in a different meaning, different impact than just the solar wind that’s more intermittent.

Catherine: Yeah, I had not heard that term before, firm energy. And I guess it was fun as well to be in Hawaii, probably you had to be in Hawaii quite a bit. Talking to a bunch of people, naval officers.

Nicole: Hawaii is a beautiful place to be. Yeah it’s, yeah, it’s just the whole community and everything there is very community, centered around community, which just makes the projects even more special. And so those are great. Those are early on. The Kipuna one is coming online, as I said, and the other two we’re currently in negotiations for our PPA and development of those. But we’re expecting to bring them online at the end of 2027.

Catherine: So Ameresco was awarded the fourth generation U.S. Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program Energy Savings Performance Contract. Wow. With this contract, Ameresco is building on delivering decarbonization and resilient solutions to each military service as well as civilian agencies. Can you share a bit more about what this entails?

Nicole: Yes, for IDIQ. So this is a, we call it a contract vehicle. So it’s a way to do business in the federal government space, specifically under an energy savings contract. And what that is, is that we, as an ESCO, go in and develop projects that save energy. And those energy savings are then amortized over a certain period of time to be able to provide the capital to make the investment for these infrastructure improvements. The program itself is fourth generation. I mean, this is not the first contract vehicle we’ve had under this and been doing work, I think, gosh, 20, 30 years under this type of contract vehicle. What’s exciting to see in the, every time we have a new generation is if you just look at the types of projects, first ones that I ever did were just lighting replacements.

And second ones became more, maybe we’ll put some controls where you have a sensor that shuts off the lights when you come into a room. Now it’s completely different. I mean, we have full-on smart building controls that sense occupancy schedules that can do just so much predictive patterns and be able to really minimize energy and combine that with the supply.
So now we’re putting, we’re looking how we can put PV panels on the roof, integrate it with that, having some green in the building, but also one of our favorite projects that we did for the GSA, we actually put brown source heat wells underneath the PV parking lot where we put a PV canopy on and we’re able to use that heat sink to then provide energy for a chiller plant and waste recovery. So it was really fun to integrate several different types of energy measures, but also get the most of the clean energy too. And by doing this, we call it comprehensive solutions under these projects that we’re doing under this vehicle.

And so we’re excited that we have another generation to bring more good to all of our federal agency partners. And the fun part of it is that you get to experience work with all across from the Department of Defense military bases to the Coast Guard, to the Veterans Administration at their hospital facilities, to the GSA buildings, federal prisons. I mean, it’s a gamut. So from a career perspective, you learn a lot just by going and seeing the different types of missions for each one of them and what they’re trying to do and try to make their lives better, whether it’s giving them new infrastructure or reducing their load, their carbon footprint, or just being able to have fixed problems that they have.

Catherine: So just talking a bit more about military bases, Ameresco acquired an energy resilience microgrid project for a military base in California. So that base will provide 100% backup power in emergencies to support the U.S. Army and the California National Guard while also generating clean energy. Ameresco also has a solar and storage project at the joint base Pearl Harbor-Hickamen.

Nicole: Certainly the one in California as another example. And just similar to Hawaii, it’s one that’s using excess land on our military bases. So it was with the Army instead of the Navy. And was able to contract with a third-party utility for the offtake, but then provide a microgrid to be able to give them when there was a critical loss of utility, and be able to provide that power to the base there for the Army.

Catherine: Okay, great. And I know that we’ve touched on the GSA a bit, but it says the catalyzed by the IRA, the Government Services Administration, and GSA have committed investing to upgrade infrastructure and install new technologies to reduce energy consumption and costs, including at four federal buildings in the Dallas area and six in Louisiana. Can you share a bit more about how Ameresco is supporting the GSA specifically?

Nicole: Yeah, so the GSA has been, they’ve been a fantastic leader as far as federal partners go and that they really take energy, clean energy and energy conservation to the max to what they can do. And they came up with a program, gosh, it’s probably been 10 years now, called the National Deep Energy Retrofit Program. And the whole intent of that was to try to get maximum energy reduction in their buildings. And that project in particular that you’re mentioning is the fifth round that they’ve done under this national program to promote energy conservation and clean energy. And they do a good job about bringing multiple places together because they have probably the largest footprint of retail space across the country. And so for that one, we put together multiple sites and are doing a whole host of different types of energy efficiency projects for them. And they’re also bringing in money that they have received to promote energy conservation and clean energy, to be able to capitalize and leverage that sunk cost of doing, developing a project and just making it better. And with the type of work that we’re doing, we have to guarantee those energy savings.

So by putting together as much resources on capital combined with energy savings, they’re able to get a lot more infrastructure improvements. The other nice thing about GSA or important thing about them is they are a leader in innovation. They like to use commercially proven, but different types of innovation in the energy phase, whether it be for new types of window films that can be put on to make, kind of not have draft or infiltration in a building or whether it’s to try battery technology in buildings for peak shaving purposes to reduce their load or whether it’s a different type of lighting sensor. They’ve been very open to being able to use these in their facilities and that’s been great. And we’ve had several projects with them, several that are in what we call performance period that are continuing to produce savings and several that we’re developing right now and just a fantastic leadership. So starting at the top and pushing it all the way down to their facilities, it’s great to see and it’s been, it works, so.

Catherine: I think what’s so nice about listening to all these stories is like, it’s just government working, isn’t it? Like government coming together, like trying to do good for the environment, of course, but also be sensible with costs. And I think that it’s just really exciting that there’s so much going on. I don’t think I quite appreciated that there were so many different government agencies that are so passionate. Passionate may not be the right word, but involved in this.

Nicole: Yeah, it’s great and because it’s a win-win. I mean, it’s smart financing, so it doesn’t necessarily require any federal funding, because you have the energy savings doing this or third-party offtakes, like in the case at Copenhagen Solar, but it’s more important, like it lets the government concentrate on what they do, which is their mission and brings in expertise, which is us to be able to take care of their basic infrastructure. And so for them, it’s not just about the energy savings and sustainability is great. I mean, everyone wants that, but it also gives them critical infrastructure placements that they may never have gotten funded and they get somebody that has to maintain it now too, which is always, any building or any situation, it’s the long-term maintenance that has to be factored in there. So it’s been great. It’s been a proven contract way to approach doing these kinds of projects and the government partners have been very good about letting it just continue to grow as the industry has grown. So we’re doing some really neat stuff under it now.

Catherine: Given all your incredible experience and clearly your wealth of knowledge, what advice do you have for young women considering starting their careers in clean energy? And what advice do you wish you had earlier in your career? Yeah, those are good questions.

Nicole: And I don’t know that it’s specific to young women or just young women and men in general, but they, just to remember how learning doesn’t stop when you finish, you get your degree and just to be open. I think that’s one of the things I still love about my job is I learn something probably every day and just continuous learning through people, learning through experiences, learning through failures and be okay to have those failures and just learn from them. I think just overemphasizing how important it is to always keep learning would be one piece of advice. I think the other piece of advice that maybe I wish I had is like just to be patient and just remember how important it is to live through experiences and the more that you have in experiences, the more that you can be a better person all around, whether it’s in personal or even your work experience. So just to kind be in that moment, learn all you can and be able to take it and pass it on to the next opportunity that you have or the next person that you meet.

Catherine: Okay, great. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me.

Nicole: Sure.