By Emely Albelo
For the News-Gazette
OUC cut the ribbon on its new St. Cloud Operations and Maintenance Center on Hickory Tree Road Thursday.
“Today's opening celebrates our leadership and partnership with the city of St. Cloud and underscores our commitment to the future in this community,” said OUC General Manager and CEO Clint Bullock.
Officials said this new $67 million, 24-acre facility is the first net-zero energy campus for a Florida utility, combining state-of-art technology with sustainability to enable the facility to use 50 percent less energy and 40 percent less water than conventional facilities of similar sizes.
Bullock said that net-zero means minimizing the total amount of energy use for conservation and operational efficiency, as well as using renewable energy power.
He explained that this project will also include a new transmission line to help deliver continuous reliability and resiliency for all our customers in the future.
OUC employee Shelly Lynch said that some of the ways they reached that 40 percent is by having water safety features, recycled water, and rain capture.
“One of our systems has a 20,000-gallon capacity for rainwater,” Lynch said.
“All our landscaping is Florida friendly, so it requires less water. Of course, less maintenance and it also gives a great habitat for wildlife.”
Jessica Puentes, wellness administrator for OUC, said a lot of thought had gone into facilities employees.
“This facility incorporates a lot of movement, whether it’s in the walkways, the pathways or the structure itself,” Puentes said. “So again, incorporating movement throughout the day for our employees is important.”
St. Cloud Mayor Blackwell said OUC has proven itself to be a resilient, reliable, excellent partner during their 27-year partnership in the city.
According to OUC, the new facility will increase their efficiency and responsiveness to the area following storms, as it opens on the eve of what hurricane experts say could be an incredibly active storm season.
Officials said the new facility is a combined effort of OUC, the Jacobs and Ajax Building Company, and the City of St. Cloud’s commitment to sustainability and renewable energy.
“I'm confident that this is going to be a huge benefit to our community,” said Blackwell. “And we are so proud to join them and celebrating the opening of the center.”
