Energy as a Service for Higher Education

November 12, 2020

Energy as a service (EaaS) continues to be top of mind for energy service companies, utilities, startups, and private equity firms. The market opportunity for EaaS is especially strong among higher education institutions that have significant deferred maintenance backlogs and aggressive sustainability goals as they struggle with budget shortfalls. In addition, the financial impacts of COVID-19 on higher education institutions are accelerating opportunities for EaaS in this segment.

Vendors should pursue smaller contracts oriented at immediate ROI and cash flow to take advantage of this market opportunity, or they might face stiff competition as the market matures. EaaS is a highly differentiated financing mechanism compared with energy service performance contracts (ESPCs), public-private partnerships (P3s), design build, and other project delivery mechanisms. However, EaaS remains relatively unknown and poorly understood among prospective higher education customers. Vendors can use this opportunity to educate clients on EaaS and demonstrate the potential of this project financing mechanism through targeted engagements.

This Guidehouse Insights report analyzes the EaaS market within the higher education segment. The report covers the evolution of EaaS definitions, drivers, and barriers in this market and offers recommendations to vendors pursuing growth in this segment. The report provides a deep dive into the differentiators of EaaS agreements, sustainability goals in higher education, recent case studies, and approaches vendors can employ to gain and grow market share in this nascent market.

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