In Greensboro, North Carolina, city officials are planning a number of energy efficiency measures in public buildings aimed at reducing energy use from regional utilities.
The most exciting venture involves the installation of solar thermal panels on the roof of the Melvin Municipal Office Building to heat hot water for the building.
Located at 300 W. Washington Street, the installation will likely be completed before Christmas, and is the result of the city working with Pepco Energy Services (a division of Pepco, the electric service provider) to plan a “greener” future.
The installation is one of six measures aimed at reducing energy costs by $129,000 annually. Other measures include replacing the HVAC system, installing high-efficiency lighting, and automating the HVAC and lighting systems.
Overall, the city’s initiatives are expected to reduce its energy bill by more than $484,000, prevent 7.7 kilowatts of energy being generated by N. Carolina’s coal plants, which provide more than 57 percent of the state’s electricity – a figure likely to rise by 15.3 percent in the coming decade.
The initiatives will also offset 38,500 therms of natural gas (which also produce greenhouse gases, though to a lesser degree than coal) and reduce municipal water usage by more than 4 million gallons of water.
Most of the improvements involve building automation and lighting upgrades, with a few water-saving measures thrown in for good measure, and the cooperative arrangement with Arlington, Virginia-based Pepco Energy Services seems like a good start, as it will not only reduce energy use from regional utility Duke Energy (whose own generation mix is 53.3-percent fossil fuels), but provide some badly needed regional jobs, including a commitment to a 10-percent minority job contract.
The downside is that Greensboro isn’t installing more solar power. Fortunately, that slack is being taken up by Duke itself, whose Carolina division promised in 2008 to spend $100 million installing solar photovoltaic at 850 North Carolina sites, including homes, schools, stores and factories.