City Utilities adds grant program to promote sustainability

Local nonprofits, government agencies and educational institutions planning to reduce their environmental impact can get some help through the EnergyWise Grant Program, launched April 3.

The program is intended to help fund projects that can reduce energy or water consumption and don’t qualify for CU’s existing rebate programs.

Any 501(c)3 organization, educational group or government entity could apply for $1,000 to $50,000 in assistance through EnergyWise.

“These would be for projects that fall outside of our regular rebate programs,” said Cara Shaefer, CU’s director of energy management and conservation. “I would think there are lots of opportunities with commercial boilers, commercial (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems, efficient motors, even building envelope projects such as insulation.”

The deadline for grant applications was May 15, and the recipients should be announced at the end of June.

“This is the first time we’ve rolled this out, so we’re excited to see what kinds of applications we get and what types of projects are out there,” Shaefer said, adding that CU sought for EnergyWise projects that showed a return on investment within 10 years.

Existing success

EnergyWise and other programs that serve residential and commercial customers, such as a programmable thermostat rebate program and an initiative that focuses on air-source heat pumps, followed the most recent utility rate increase that took effect in October 2006.

The utility’s efforts were partially a result of the Power Supply Community Task Force, which recommended increased conservation in conjunction with construction of the $697 million Southwest 2 power station. CU asked for and received a 3 percent electric rate increase in 2006, $1 million of which funds the utility’s conservation programs.

CU’s most recent rate increase request – a 4.1 percent increase in natural gas costs proposed in March – was tabled by Springfield City Council in April and sent back to CU officials for further study.

The utility estimates that its programs (see box) have thus far saved 411 kilowatts of electricity, 11,490 dekatherms of natural gas and more than 6.8 million gallons of water. At the residential rate, electric savings are worth more than $114,000.

Springfield engine remanufacturer Diesel Exchange is participating in CU’s commercial lighting rebate program, having changed out 112 metal-halide lights in its 60,000-square-foot facility with more efficient T-8 fluorescent lights.

Production Manager Tony Mitchell said Diesel Exchange’s building at 3811 E. Kearney St. was built just 10 years ago, but the new lighting is still a significant improvement in both energy use and working conditions.

“We had an industry average of 30 to 32 foot-candles in the shop,” said Mitchell, noting that a foot-candle is a measurement of light intensity. “We’re now at nearly double that, and it’s still cheaper to operate than it was before.”

Mitchell declined to say how much Diesel Exchange spent to upgrade the lighting, though he noted that with the CU rebate program – which 34 other companies also are using – and federal rebate programs, the project will pay for itself in less than two years.

“The new lights also last quite a bit longer – the old lighting needed new bulbs anyway, and we would have spent $4,000 to $5,000 just to get it back up to the lighting level of where it was,” Mitchell said. “This way, we have all new lighting, double our light output and still see about $6,000 in savings each year.”

CU’s programs extend well beyond manufacturing. UMB Bank utilized CU rebate programs to upgrade its HVAC systems and thermostats in its main Springfield branch, 1150 E Battlefield Road, as well as upgrading its lighting from older T-12 lamps to the newer T-8 fixtures.

UMB Assistant Vice President Michael Garner said the bank also has taken advantage of the on-site energy audits CU offers to both commercial and residential customers.

“We did an energy audit to see where we needed to make improvements, and they give you a rebate for doing that,” Garner said. “It just makes sense because we’re concentrated on banking and we don’t know enough about the specifics of having a green office.”

Practice what you preach

CU is not just helping its customers save energy and water, however; the utility is working on reducing its own environmental impact.

Included in the utility’s $1 million annual conservation budget is money for in-house energy-efficiency improvement projects, which include:

• adding outdoor air economizers to its HVAC systems that bring in outside air to cool buildings in lieu of mechanical cooling;

• replacing its own fluorescent light fixtures with more efficient lamps;

• replacing incandescent light bulbs at James River Power Station, which eventually will save 1,900 megawatt-hours of energy annually;

• computerizing digital controls to monitor electricity usage at all facilities; and

• using variable temperature water in hot-water building heaters, based on outside temperatures.

The utility also provided $275,000 to begin replacing the city’s incandescent traffic lights with light-emitting diode lamps; those lamps will eventually save 1.8 million kilowatt-hours a year.

“If we can demonstrate ways that we can save energy, water or other resources, it shows customers that they can take similar steps in their homes or businesses,” CU spokesman Joel Alexander said. “While most of our efficiency projects are of a larger scale, they still ultimately translate into savings of resources and dollars.” The James River lighting project alone will save $55,000 annually.

Real Savings

Number of participants in City Utilities conservation programs from Oct. 1, 2006–May 2, 2008:

Programmable thermostat rebate: 5,449

Residential insulation rebate: 686

Commercial lighting rebate: 35

Rain sensor rebate: 82

Efficient toilet rebate: 653

Compact fluorescent lighting rebate: 30,182

HVAC tune-up rebate: 1,005

Central air conditioning rebate: 95

Natural gas furnace rebate: 241

Air-source heat pump rebate: 28

Geothermal heat pump rebate: 2

Information about CU’s commercial and residential conservation programs is available at the utility’s energy management Web site, www.cuenergywise.com.

Source: City Utilities of Springfield