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
School conserves energy, money By Sarah Kirchner, AlbertLeaTribune.com
Saturday, March 8, 2008 ALBERT LEA — Through turning off lights, turning down the heat when no one is in a building and upgrading outdated energy equipment, the Albert Lea School District is saving the environment and money in the process.
The Albert Lea School District completed its four-year contract with Energy Education, Inc. and totals show the district saved $863,991 in four years — $110,000 more than the projected savings for the district, said district Energy Manager Steve Lund.
When the district signed the contract — costing $60,000 each year to be involved, according to Superintendent Dave Prescott — it was projected Albert Lea schools would save $753,000 in four years. That total actually came to $863,991, or 24 percent of energy costs compared to the base year, which was the year before the program started.
That savings translates roughly into $60 per student a year, said school board Treasurer Bill Leland.
“These projects are bringing returns,” Lund said.
Prescott said if the district hadn’t saved $863,991 on energy through EEI’s program, the levy passed in November 2007 would have been higher. To pay for utilities, the district pulls money out of the general fund, which pays for teachers and classes and directly affects students.
The No. 1 reason it is important to be a part of EEI’s energy program, Lund said, is because the district “should be good stewards of tax payers’ money.” The program also shows the district is working to be good stewards of the earth, too, he added.
Four years ago the Albert Lea school board looked at rising utility costs turning into a fixed cost taking away the students, Lund said. Through investigating the district’s options, EEI’s energy savings program was found to have similar goals as the district.
In January 2003, the Albert Lea High School was spending $533 and 9,937 kilowatt-hours per day on electricity, according to Lund’s calculations. In January 2008, the high school spent $486 and 7,635 kilowatt-hours a day.
As far as heating the high school, in January 2003 the district used 58 dekatherms and $226 a day. Keeping in mind the cost of gas has gone up drastically in the past four years, in January 2008, the high school used 38.5 dekatherms and $324 a day to heat the building, per Lund’s calculations.
Saving energy can be translated into cars removed from the road or trees planted, to give people an idea of the impact on the environment.
Throughout the district, Lund said, the impact of energy reduction in four years was equal to removing 1,795 cars from the road or planting 3,722 acres of trees.
“From that standpoint, I think we’ve done a good thing for the environment,” Lund said.
“Environmentally, it’s the right thing to do,” Prescott said.
EEI’s energy program is people-focused, looking at ways to change people’s habits and focusing on the hours schools are not in use. System upgrades are part of a separate program, but Lund says he and EEI make recommendations on what can be done.
The students are even getting excited about saving energy, Lund said.
“Hopefully our kids will understand this is important,” he said.
Prescott said he heard district employees using the same energy-saving techniques in their own homes.
EEI provides training for Lund to be able to make energy-saving recommendations. Lund said the company will support the school district in its energy savings even after the contract is up. From here on out it is free for the district to participate, he said.
The cost for involvement in the program is set by EEI based on the size of the district. EEI also guarantees a certain level of savings, which Lund couldn’t confirm, and if the district didn’t see that level of savings then EEI would absorb the cost, he said.
The annual fee pays for EEI to review the district’s energy savings plan, review its equipment, look at data, suggest new equipment ideas and send many consultants through the district to analyze things, said Prescott.
The district is looking into becoming an Energy Star school district. To qualify, the district must demonstrate improvement in energy efficiency in all buildings and have a portfolio with wide efficiency improvements of at least 10 percent. The Energy Star Leader Award has been given to 51 organizations in the country. Fourteen school districts in Minnesota qualified for the award, according to Lund.