Local governments move to cut energy costs
Report from state auditor reviews best practices
An official communication from the Office of the State Auditor doesn’t always bring good news. But this time is different.
A new report, “Best Practices Review on Reducing Energy Costs in Local Governments,” was published recently by State Auditor Rebecca Otto to help steer local public entities to resources they can use to cut energy costs.
Apple Valley’s newest municipal liquor store is geothermally heated and cooled, and includes many other “green” features. Liquor Operations Director Scott Swanson said that the additional $100,000 cost of the geothermal system, above and beyond the cost of a conventional system, will be paid off in energy savings within a decade.
The report features new projects from across the state that demonstrate a variety of cost-saving measures in areas such as heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting.
In nine case studies, local governments show how large and small cities, counties and school districts used solar power, wind power and geothermal power to reduce their energy costs – sometimes significantly.
Read the state auditor's energy report (132 pages, 4.8 MB pdf).
Rising energy costs put pressure on local budgets
“This topic is timely because as energy costs continue to increase, more pressure is put on local government budgets, and these increases have the potential to impact service delivery,” Otto said. “Public awareness has also increased around energy issues, creating more pressure on government to reduce energy use.”
The report specifically addresses a major obstacle for many public sector entities in reducing energy costs – lack of financial resources to make the investments. The report contains live links to financial and information resources, as well as cost calculators to crunch numbers.
Building on the report, two state agencies and four local government associations will host a conference in St. Cloud in January 2009 to bring government officials and other stakeholders together to talk about energy-saving projects and how to implement them more widely.
The conference at the St. Cloud Civic Center on Thursday, Jan. 22, will include panel discussions, workshops and demonstrations. About 200-300 attendees are expected.
Watertown-Mayer Schools show “green” leadership
Watertown-Mayer High School and Middle School was remodeled in 2007 and 2008, during which a geothermal heating and cooling system was installed. The system cost nearly $1.2 million more than a conventional system, but the energy savings will recoup the extra cost in just six years.
The Watertown-Mayer School District, in northwest Carver County, has been a leader in energy efficiency, due largely to the advocacy of Karsten Anderson, superintendent of schools. The District has two case studies profiled in the State Auditor’s report.
One project involves using geothermal energy to heat and cool several new school buildings. The other was to earn federal LEED Certification – “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” – for meeting strict design and construction requirements for a new high-performance building.
“The District wanted to take concepts about energy efficiency seriously, so we selected professional consultants with a background in energy-efficient buildings,” Anderson said. “We had to take the lead in pushing for the efficiencies because it is too easy to resort to more traditional systems, especially when there are cost considerations with upgrading systems.”
The District met with the Weidt Group and Xcel Energy to calculate potential energy savings, and then selected a variety of options to reduce energy demand based on a rigorous cost-benefit analysis. The options covered heating and cooling systems, lighting and other measures.
The east- and south-facing entryway to Watertown-Mayer High School features a “grand staircase” and affords a terrific view of the surrounding land.
There was some tension early on about the work, Anderson said. “At first, because of the upfront costs involved, I was unsure of how the public would view our emphasis on energy efficiency,” he said. “However, since then, we’ve heard many positive comments about (our use of) the geothermal system, in particular. Homeowners and farmers in our district are installing these systems and they, too, are experiencing the financial benefits.”
Early results are encouraging. On a $13.9 million school building completed in 2007, the District received rebates totaling nearly $114,000. Based on computer models, the District will save 59% – or more than $92,000 annually – in energy costs compared to a code-based facility.
“I hope that the State of Minnesota can help encourage more public entities to incorporate energy-efficient designs into building construction,” Anderson said. “Utility companies like Xcel are expected to help pay for some of the costs associated with these systems. This program should be expanded so that public entities are highly encouraged to install them instead of having to make difficult programmatic choices during the construction process.”