To enter into a contract under this section pursuant to section 3345.63 or division (B) of section 3345.64 of the Revised Code, a board of trustees of a state institution of higher education shall request proposals from at least three parties for the implementation of energy or water saving measures. Prior to providing any interested party a copy of any such request, the board shall advertise, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the contract is to be performed, its intent to request proposals for the implementation of energy or water saving measures. The notice shall invite interested parties to submit proposals for consideration and shall be published at least thirty days prior to the date for accepting proposals.

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Upon receiving the proposals, the board shall analyze them. After considering the cost estimates of each proposal, how qualified each party submitting a proposal is to implement its proposal, and the institution’s ability to pay for each with current revenues or by financing the cost of each, the board may select one or more proposals or, instead, reject all proposals. In selecting proposals, the board shall select the proposal or proposals most likely to result in the greatest savings when the cost of the proposal is compared to the energy, water, or wastewater cost savings, operating cost savings, and avoided capital costs that will result from implementing the proposal.

No board shall award a contract to implement energy or water saving measures under this section unless the board finds that the cost of the contract is not likely to exceed the amount of energy, water, or wastewater savings, operating cost savings, and avoided capital costs over no more than fifteen years.