How could Cook County residents, businesses, and public institutions save money on power, be good to the environment, and reduce reliance on foreign oil? Thatis the question a grant-funded study will be answering over the next year.
On December 14, 2010, interested citizens met with two consultants from Energy Management Solutions Inc. (EMS) to talk about the process of developing an energy efficiency and renewable energy strategy for Cook County.
Project coordinator Don Grant of the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) envisioned finding ways to make both public and private buildings more energy efficient through electric metering to help consumers reduce peak energy use, improvements in street lighting and sewage treatment, and investment in renewable energy sources such as ground source heat pumps and biomass, wind, and solar heat and power. He also envisioned the possibility of incinerating refuse and increasing eco-friendly transportation options.
Energy Management Solutions works with numerous cities in the Northland and the Twin Cities to increase their energy efficiency. As part of the Cook County project, Energy Analyst Jessica Burdette plans to assess energy use in both private and public buildings. Burdette will examine a building’s structure, appliances, and heating facilities and figure out how to get the quickest payback period for energy improvement expenditures. Even weather data will be used to calculate energy needs.
Lots of ideas are on the table. Burdette said that community members could work together to save energy and money by buying things like light bulbs in bulk. A certain amount of detective work is involved in assessing energy waste. She told a story about an office building in which some workers used space heaters to stay warm. The problem was that the heat would warm the air near the thermostats and kick the air conditioning on. The solution was to have the workers use warm floor mats instead, helping them stay warm from the toes on up without affecting the temperature in the rest of the building.
EMS President Gary Swanson said some simple and inexpensive changes could make a big difference. One $75 high-velocity pre-rinse faucet nozzle in a commercial kitchen, for example, could save $1,500 a year in water costs.
County Commissioner Jim Johnson suggested that they create an energy use guide specifically tailored for Cook County, with information on people who sell and install energyefficient appliances and equipment. Grand Marais City Administrator Mike Roth said information on how to reduce energy use is widely available and people who want to save energy tend to find the information they need. Melinda Spinler of the Northwoods Food Project said it would be inspiring to see government buildings reduce energy use, and doing so would save taxpayer money as well.
Builder Chris Norman suggested installing home energy use monitors that could give homeowners instant feedback on how much energy various appliances are using. This would help people set goals and reduce energy use, he said.
City Councilor Tim Kennedy said that in the future, the city’s power company, Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, will be implementing a rate structure that offers the cheapest rates during off-peak hours. Mike Roth said reducing energy use will be more about when people use than how much they use. Monitoring electric use by the hour is expensive to monitor, Gary Swanson said.
Where could the most change happen? Cook County Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator Dave Demmer wondered. Burdette said commercial buildings tend to make the biggest difference. Tim Kennedy hoped this project would impact residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, and institutional buildings.
Swanson suggested that they consider an educational component for this project, so people could learn about new technologies and opportunities such as buying in bulk. He also suggested that local government consider the possibility of revolving loans to help people retrofit their homes and commercial buildings.
A steering committee comprised of County Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers, Grand Marais City Administrator Mike Roth, CCLEP organizer George Wilkes, and study coordinator Don Grant will oversee the project. One of their first objectives will be to plan a public meeting to introduce the project to the community.
The county board has approved an agreement to pay Energy Management Solutions an amount not to exceed $33,000 for their work plus up to $2,000 for mileage and expenses. Funding is being provided by a $50,000 grant from the Minnesota Commerce Department’s Officeof Energy Security. Theproject cost is expected to be $88,400, with a match of $38,400 to come from labor, most of which will be provided by the Stakeholders Energy Committee.
Updates on this study will be posted on the CCLEP website: www. cookcountylep.org.
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