Century Bond Program Projects

Penn's Century Bond program is funded by a $300M bond issued in spring 2012 that has a 100-year term. Of that total, $200M was directed towards financing upgrades in lighting and HVAC systems that support energy efficiency and reduce deferred maintenance. The program has helped Penn fulfill its goal of reducing the institution's carbon footprint as outlined in its Climate Action Plan. Of the $200M directed towards energy efficiency upgrades and deferred maintenance, approximately $8.5M has been invested in energy-efficient lighting upgrades and $190M for HVAC improvements. The remaining funds were used for other strategic priority projects.

Project Approval and Application Process

Schools and Centers can request to borrow against the Century Bond proceeds and pay the loan back over a 10-year period for lighting or a 30-year period for HVAC improvements. For the first round of projects, FRES paid the full debt service for the lighting projects; for HVAC projects, the School/Center paid the principal on a straight-line basis and FRES paid the interest.

Principal payment against these loans re-seed the Century Bond pool and are available for borrowing for infrastructure projects.  Funding is limited to projects approved by FRES and must address high or immediate deferred maintenance needs and help the University meet its energy efficiency goals as determined by the FRES Director of Energy and Engineering.  If you are interested in applying for a Century Bond loan, please contact your FRES Design and Construction Director, who will work with the FRES Director of Energy and Engineering to determine if your project is eligible.  If the project is deemed eligible, you will need to apply for an internal capital loan in accordance with Penn Division of Finance Policy 1809 – Interfund Borrowing – Internal Capital Project Loan. 

For the current round of Century Bond loans, the School/Center will be required to repay the full debt service on lighting projects.  For HVAC or other infrastructure projects, the School/Center will pay the principal and approximately half of the interest; FRES will pay the remainder of the interest.

Lighting Upgrades

Lighting upgrades have been completed on more than 57,000 fixtures in 45 buildings at a total project cost of $8.5M.

HVAC Projects

HVAC projects that have been completed or are proceeding through design and construction include: