Nixon aims to reform energy use statewide

Energy powers daily life and, now, Gov. Jay Nixon believes it might be just the spark the Show-Me State needs to power its economy.

In 2010, the governor’s Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth identified energy solutions as one of seven target industries with the highest potential for creating jobs and spurring economic growth. Last month, Nixon advanced his strategy, signing an executive order to launch the development of a comprehensive statewide energy plan, including the private sector.

The Missouri Division of Energy will head up an initiative soliciting input across the state from residents, businesses, academic researchers and public utilities with the end goal of submitting a report to the governor by May 31, 2015, outlining Missouri’s future consumption of energy.

The division is part of another executive order signed by Nixon in February 2013 – and approved by the General Assembly in August – moving the energy promotion group to the states’ Department of Economic Development from the Department of Natural Resources.

“DNR regulates energy and enforces regulations and in theory the Division of Energy should fit in, but it didn’t. We just have a slightly different role,” said Lewis Mills, director of the Division of Energy. “We promote the smart use of energy, which can lead to job creation. That is more in line with the DED.”

Previously head of the Missouri Office of Public Counsel, Mills was appointed to the newly created post in April. He said the state hopes to use information gathered through the initiative to map out a long-term plan for the state.

“We hope this process points to our problems and also what we are already doing right,” he said of upcoming input gathering sessions.

State buildings and departments already have taken the first step reducing their carbon footprint, following another executive order from Nixon in 2009, and a Springfield-based company is taking a page from the same playbook in the private sector.

Automated systems control company EnergyMesh, a division of Springfield Mechanical Services Inc., aims to help area businesses reduce energy waste through a holistic approach.

“The past couple of decades, it’s been cost prohibitive to install hardware to save energy,” said EnergyMesh founder Brad Fisher. “With Web-based monitoring, that’s just not the case anymore.”

Leading by example
About 3,200 state-run buildings in Missouri already have reduced energy consumption by 22.5 percent.

At an annualized rate of 4.45 percent a year, the figure more than doubles the yearly goal of 2 percent as outlined in Nixon’s executive order.

“The payoff from these efforts is twofold: Reducing emissions has a positive impact on our environment, and minimizing energy use has a direct impact on operational expenditures,” Office of Administration Commissioner Doug Nelson said in a news release.

Totaling more than 22.6 million square feet of office space, Nelson said the OA has decreased electricity use by 303.1 million kilowatt-hours, a 16 percent reduction compared to the 2008 baseline.

It also decreased propane and natural gas use by a 32 percent overall reduction compared to baseline.

In total, the energy savings is enough to power 4,000 households and fuel 24,000 hot-water heaters for a year, according to the release.

“If we want to make energy a priority for the state, we need to lead by example,” Mills said. “That includes things like upgraded lighting and automated HVAC systems.”

Local approach
Springfield-based EnergyMesh has taken a similar approach to wasted energy reduction since forming in 2011. Fisher, the son of Springfield Mechanical Services President Bob Fisher, said urban energy conservation is his main goal.

Working with clients such as Enactus, the Ozarks Regional YMCA, Convoy of Hope and Aaron Sachs & Associates PC, Fisher said average energy savings can range from 15 percent to as much as 50 percent depending on the size and age of a building.

“Applying a fancy control system isn’t the answer. The control system must work with the mechanical system for the best possible picture overall,” he said. “EnergyMesh attempts to integrate the new and old systems in a building under one Web-based format.”

Fisher said through the online portal, business owners can control and monitor everything in a building that consumes power, from the toaster to the HVAC system.

“If you put a scheduled timer on a water fountain, by itself, it’s probably not going to save much money, maybe $10 or $15 a year,” he said.

“But if you have 10 water fountains in a building, all of a sudden that starts to add up to something.”

Fisher said during the past couple decades, hardware costs made energy reduction cost-prohibitive on a large building scale, but with recent price drops, the technology is accessible to most anyone.

Fisher said conventional systems can cost roughly $30,000 for a mid-size building. EnergyMesh systems can cost around a few thousand dollars for small buildings up to roughly $15,000 for a mid-size building. Fisher said cost depends on what systems a building already has in place.

Through map-based Web monitoring, Fisher said owners can tell exactly what’s happening in their building at any given time.

“They can look at things such as a heat map and really drill down and look at the cause of the problem,” he said. “Typically, a building control system is in a small closet somewhere using a CRT monitor running Windows 98.

“Our system bypasses that call to maintenance and allows you to figure out the problems right now and from anywhere.”

Helping hand
During part of its annual loan cycle ending Oct. 31, the DED released $7.5 million in money available in low-interest loans to public schools, higher learning institutions, local governments and not-for-profit hospitals to complete energy efficiency and renewable energy projects statewide.

“This is our main project right now and has proven really effective in the past,” Mills said.

“We are primarily targeting local governments and schools.”

Administered as part of the Energy Loan Program, Mills said the financing goes toward things such as new lighting systems, insulation and other measures.

With priority given to projects costing between $5,000 and $1.5 million with the quickest payback, loans are repaid from energy savings achieved.

Mills said 2014 loan program funds are higher, but can’t be compared to recent years.

“Some federal funds were available through similar programs we administered in recent years,” he said. “But that is all out of the picture now. It was a once in a lifetime deal.”

According to the DED, since the program’s inception in 1989, the Division of Energy has awarded more than 538 loans, accounting for nearly $89 million in energy-efficiency projects completed and more than $167 million in estimated cumulative energy savings.

“Energy efficiency is the best, cleanest and lowest cost resource, and the energy loan program is a real testament to that,” Mills said.[[In-content Ad]]