WKU Receives Governor's
Energy Efficiency Award
October 28, 2003
Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University has received the 2002 Governor's Environmental Excellence Award for Energy Efficiency for its Energy Saving Performance Contract program.
The award from the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet was presented Monday at the Governor's Conference on the Environment. It recognizes outstanding individuals, organizations and companies that have contributed to the enhancement of Kentucky's environment.
Western was the first state agency to implement an ESPC, a contract with an energy service company to use energy cost savings to pay for energy-related improvements. In Western's case, LG&E Enertech Inc. (now Ameresco Enertech) completed almost $1.6 million in improvements resulting in an annual savings of more than $252,000, or 8 percent of the University's electric bill.
That savings will be used to pay LG&E Enertech back over 12 years. "The result of the project is that the University will save in excess of 8 percent on all future electric utility bills while immediately getting the benefit of much-needed improvements," said John Osborne, WKU's associate vice president of campus services and facilities.
Improvements to eight buildings included replacement of lighting fixtures and upgrades to heating, cooling and ventilation systems. Osborne said more than 21,000 florescent lamps and 13 tons of ballasts were replaced in five buildings during the nine-month project. If placed end-to-end, the lamps would stretch for 16 miles, he said.
Since the new lights use more than 20 percent less energy, the lighting projects alone account for more than $100,000 in annual energy savings.
Osborne said performance contracting allowed the University to address some of the more than $66 million in deferred maintenance projects without draining the budget. And since Western was the first state agency to take on a performance contract, other agencies are calling on Osborne and project manager Ben Johnson for presentations on the University's experience.
Osborne added Western hopes to begin a second larger project in the near future.
For more information, contact John Osborne, (270) 745-5747. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
