Nearly every day, a newspaper somewhere in the country is carrying a story about the success of our clients’ energy conservation programs. Below are just a few examples of the great work they are doing, and the privilege it is to serve them in such tangible, noteworthy ways.
Albert Lea Tribune October 16, 2007
Partnership saves A.L. school district dollars
By Sarah Kirchner, staff writer
The Albert Lea School District earlier this month reported working to save money and energy with Alliant Energy’s shared savings plan, which results in updated equipment, but that isn’t the only way the district works to save energy and money.
The school district’s energy manager, Steve Lund, told the Albert Lea school board Monday there is a people factor to think about, too, and those people have helped save the district $793,000 in 3 1/2 years. The savings, he said, come to 24 percent of the total expected energy costs.
The school district partners with Energy Education Inc., a national group that works with schools, colleges and some Southern churches to educate how to save energy and money.
“I think it’s just being good stewards of our environment,” Lund said.
When the district began working with EEI, the expected energy cost had been about $3.3 million for the timeframe of February 2004 to September 2007. However, the actual cost came to $2.5 million, according to EEI reports.
“It’s been a good program for the district,” Lund said.
If the program is continued, the projected net savings, according to EEI, is $2.8 million as of January 2014.
The Albert Lea School District on Nov. 6 will ask voters to approve an operating levy that amounts to $869 per pupil, with a second question asking for another $89 per pupil. The district hopes to show voters how it saves taxpayer dollars. The levy amounts to $125 of property taxes on a home worth $100,000.
Lakeview Elementary School in particular spent less money on utilities last year than it did three years ago. In 2004, the school spent $65,800 compared to $62,470 this year, according to Lund.
He said the school district’s energy conservation program looks at how to use energy to support education, but when education is not happening in a classroom — in the evenings and weekends — the program looks at how to cut back on energy.
Some steps include school staff turning off lights, computers and equipment as well as the district monitoring heating and cooling situations in the buildings.
“It’s a team effort, it truly is,” Lund said. “All of our staff is a key piece to this.”
However, Lund said the program is more than just shutting off lights. Teachers making the extra step to be conscious of energy use act as great role models for students, showing the importance of energy savings for the environment as well.
Teachers and staff working to cut energy in each classroom is a small effort that adds up, Lund said. The program looks to find small amounts of savings, but finding those small amounts multiple times.
“We’re always trying to make it better for kids,” Lund said. The money saved on utilities can be put back into the classroom.
The program also focuses on energy savings on a grander scale, Lund said, with many monitors installed for heat and electricity as well as constantly finding ways to cut back.
Lund acknowledged that installing more computers and equipment uses more energy, but the efforts to save energy works to cut back on those added costs.
The contract’s obligation is for four years, Lund said, so it is scheduled to end in the beginning of February 2008, if the school board decides not to renew the project. If the program is renewed, EEI will support the district for free after the paid contract term ends.
The cost of the project, if it is renewed at the beginning of the year, is $1,000 to update the data processing program, the salary of the energy manager and part of the cost to send the manager to seminars and training, Lund said.
In the end, the energy conservation program is self-funding, with conservation activities paying for themselves, according to EEI.
Superintendent David Prescott said he talked to other school districts in different states that went through a budget crisis and cut the energy manager. Those districts, he said, saw an adverse affect in energy savings, and the districts ended up hiring the energy managers back.
The school district is also looking into becoming an Energy Star district, which would emphasize the success of energy savings and bring recognition from other organizations, Lund said.