July 30, 2010

City Hall in Marion, Ohio was built in the middle of the 1979 energy crisis. Even so, when architects devised the three-story building, sustainability was not top of mind.

"None of the offices in the building have any windows," says Mayor Scott Schertzer. "The front doors are made of glass, but they have three eight-inch gaps in them letting in air."

Now, a $350,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will go toward much needed upgrades at city hall. [More]

July 30, 2010

Delray Beach, Fla. had a good problem: Recovery Act funding to support the city's mission to reduce energy costs – but no seasoned pro to help realize those savings.

Through an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), the South Florida city hired a former city manager to oversee projects that would deliver both energy and financial savings. [More]

July 30, 2010

In our series titled "Charlotte Green Supply Chain," Energy Empowers looks at how energy efficiency and a commitment to better buildings is creating market opportunities for the city’s businesses and delivering energy savings for residents. [More]

July 30, 2010

Rob Phocas became Charlotte, N.C.'s energy and sustainability manager in April. Now that he's had time to settle in, Energy Empowers asked him what energy plans Charlotte has lined up and how he goes about his job of overseeing 17 energy-related American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded projects, awarded under an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant in the amount of $6.78 million. [More]

July 30, 2010

Three years ago at Sacred Heart grade school in Norfolk, Neb., efforts to recycle were grim.

"When I got here, we had no paper recycling program," says Troy Berryman, who is entering his sixth year as principal at Sacred Heart. "A couple years prior, we had a guy park a semi-truck in the parking lot for people to recycle paper." [More]

July 30, 2010

Matthew Coapman sat behind a computer for six years after college, selling advertising space across the country for major brands. When his company starting shutting down, he wasn't defeated — he saw an opportunity to reinvent himself and help his community as well.

"I realized the biggest need in our community was energy conservation in the places we live and work," says Coapman, now two years into starting his business — Energy Tight. "I knew it would take getting dirty to do it, but having an experience with customers where we can give them a combination of comfort and value in their homes makes it worth it." [More]

July 30, 2010

Charlotte, N.C. resident Ron Martin heard he could save some money by having his home retrofitted, making small — but important — changes to increase energy efficiency. The ideal was intriguing.

Martin called local retrofitter Energy Tight in May to come perform an energy audit on his home. The company performed a blower door test and checked his duct work, attic and crawlspace for areas where energy might be leaking out. [More]

July 29, 2010

Everything keeps getting bigger in the wind energy industry: turbines, blades and now the towers that hold them in place.

Today, most steel towers that support utility-scale turbines stand about 80 meters tall, but the Tindall Corporation wants to go higher using precast concrete to raise turbines over 100 meters in height to capture stronger, steadier winds - and more energy. [More]

July 29, 2010

This fall, when students in Texas' Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) board school buses, some of them will be riding on the district's new hybrid electric diesel vehicles.

Thanks to Recovery Act funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities program, the district was able to purchase 25 buses—enough to transport 1,800 students to school while saving the district 12,000 gallons of fuel a year. The program covered the cost difference between replacing an older bus and purchasing a new hybrid electric diesel model. [More]

July 29, 2010

On any given day up to 2,000 people visit the Dunn Building in Martinsburg, W. Va. The building is the site for the Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, the Berkeley County Commission and other municipal offices.

And that means energy demand in the facility is high, as computers, laboratories, and office lights are constantly in use. An inefficient HVAC, installed in the late 1980s and quickly running out its lifespan, only added to the problem of inefficient heating and cooling and high-energy demand. [More]

July 29, 2010

When the town of Lancaster, Mass. discovered that energy was the second largest non-personnel percentage of their budget, they knew something must be done to become more efficient and reduce costs.

"If all new revenue gets eaten up by your traditional budgetary growth, you're really never in a position to catch up on capital projects," says Orlando Pacheco, town administrator of Lancaster.

Now as one of 35 recently designated "green communities" in Massachusetts, Lancaster has not only made it a priority to invest in energy efficiency but has learned how to tackle a wide variety of projects by combining funds. [More]

July 29, 2010

Virginia resident Meghan McMillen knows how frightening it is to be without a job during a recession.

As an administrative assistant at Volvo, McMillen thought her job was safe when the company began laying people off last year. But when a second round of lay-offs came in August, she found herself among those who were out of work.

"When I found out that I was suddenly out of job, I was terrified," says McMillen. "I knew a lot of former co-workers were struggling to find new employment, and I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to find anything either." [More]

July 29, 2010

Dovetail Construction Company saw a unique challenge – and opportunity - with a neglected 1880s-era Richmond and Chesapeake Bay Railway Car Barn. How could the company preserve the characteristics of the historic electric railroad car barn and still make it a showcase for energy generation and energy efficiency?

The answer was to construct a "net-zero" building within a building and preserve its historic character, says Julie Wescott Weissend, vice president of the Richmond, Va.-based construction company. [More]

July 29, 2010

"We have felt an impact because of weatherization," says Mark Barr, a third-generation owner of 70-year-old family window manufacturing business Harry G. Barr Company, located in Fort Smith, Ark.

The Arkansas weatherization assistance program received an additional $48 million to through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This has allowed local service providers to increase the number of homes serviced and tripled the number of contractors. And that has positively impacted the local economy and the Barr's window company. With the bump up in business, Barr is able to bump up employees to 40-hour workweeks, as opposed to the shorter workweeks Harry G. Barr Company had prior to the Recovery Act. [More]

July 29, 2010

In the city of Longview, Texas, the wastewater treatment facility uses more electricity than any other public building. Making investments to permanently cut energy costs at the plant is important for this East Texas city of approximately 77,000.

"Our city has felt the effects of the recession. Several companies have laid 100-200 folks off and many are still waiting to be hired back," says Shawn Raney, a safety specialist with the Longview city government. "The improvements will help local taxpayers by reducing the amount of electricity the wastewater facility needs to operate." [More]

July 29, 2010

"We have two schools that were built in the 1930s that have never had proper insulation," says Alex Stewart, the energy manager of Talladega County Schools. "One of our schools was built twenty years ago and never had its HVAC system replaced"

For school systems seeking to reduce costs and be more energy efficient, building age and HVAC condition matter a great deal. [More]

July 27, 2010

What do you have with seven counties, 283 municipalities and more than 8 million people? A new and potential, detailed story of energy usage and emissions in the Chicago area – told through millions and millions of data points.

In an effort to help the Chicago region manage energy consumption, the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) is providing each of the local 283 municipalities with a report of citywide energy consumption, vehicle miles traveled, and emissions data. [More]

July 27, 2010

With 900 tribal members, a small land base for development and limited access to water, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah must prioritize its finances. That means some projects, like fixing the tribal headquarters, with its deteriorating stucco exterior and temperamental HVAC system, had to wait. [More]

July 27, 2010

For county officials conscious of energy efficiency, deciphering complex utility bills and identifying both municipal energy-use trends potential savings opportunities can be complex without sophisticated software.

"We knew we needed a better system," says James Bush, energy manager for Lexington-Fayette Urban County, Ky.

Last month, the county invested $140,000 of a $2.7 million Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) from the U.S. Department of Energy to purchase EnergyCAP software. [More]

July 26, 2010

In Texas City, an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) awarded last year has already been utilized to start saving the Texas Gulf Coast city money by installing more efficient lights and applying UV reduction films to windows.

Nick Finan, director of management services, said the city had already been working with Texas-New Mexico Power Company to find ways to reduce their energy load when they received the $191,600 grant, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The city had been encouraged by the power company to investigate potential energy savings, and what they found was that using more efficient lighting could make a big difference. [More]