Oregon Governor Outlines Energy Efficiency Goals to Business Leaders

Oregon's unique programs support efficiency programs in schools.

July 2008

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski outlined several energy efficiency proposals in a June speech to business leaders at the Oregon Business Association and Northwest Environmental Business Council Climate Conference in Salem; and a school moves energy performance contracts forward in Pendleton.

Energy Efficiency Proposals

The governor's energy efficiency policies are part of a comprehensive agenda to meet the state's goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 10% below 1990 levels by 2020.

The proposals include:

• Net Zero Emission Buildings

  All new buildings in the commercial and residential sectors are to achieve net zero emissions by 2030. Programs and building codes that provide incentives for energy-efficient design and onsite clean distributed generation will be critical.

• Energy Performance Certificates

  These will enable homeowners and small business people to know the energy performance of a home or building they invest in, much the same way a miles per gallon rating does for vehicles.

• Utility and Industrial Efficiency

  Oregon can build on the success of the Business Energy Tax Credit and ensure the program provides incentives for large-scale energy efficiency measures.

• Awareness and Outreach

  A consolidated awareness campaign can help individuals incorporate energy efficiency into their lives, saving money and lightening the load on the state's energy generation, transmission, and distribution system.

The governor highlighted the importance of a cap-and-trade system to Oregon's efforts in reducing emissions, and spoke to the importance of implementing other measures to encourage businesses, local and state governments and individuals to reduce energy consumption.

For more information, read Governor Kulongoski's June 17 press release.

Pendleton School District Saves on Energy and Maintenance

Like many small towns, the Pendleton School District is the heart of the community. Pendleton has one high school, one middle school, and five elementary schools that serve 3,140 students. The schools are old buildings with old equipment that has not been well maintained.

The district decided to use an energy savings performance contract (ESPC), which enabled it to select one company with expertise to manage numerous projects to improve energy performance from start to finish. Oregon procurement law allows a project owner to select a company based on qualifications instead of the lowest bid.

The district contracted with Abacus Engineered Systems—which has since been acquired by TAC Energy Solutions—in 2004 to do several energy projects at six of the District's eight facilities. Several boilers were replaced, lighting was upgraded, and direct digital control systems were installed. The district completed some additional measures with support from TAC.

The work was performed late 2004 through the summer of 2005. The measurement and verification phase began after construction was complete and lasted two years. TAC guaranteed savings of $174,677 through September 2007. The final report identified $191,246 in utility cost savings, exceeding the contract obligation by nearly 10%. The savings continued through the winter, and as of April 2008, cost savings were $269,256.

Pendleton also realized maintenance savings because of the improved systems and equipment upgrades at a number of the schools. Staff now has access to energy use information and utility monitoring software that was not available to them before. They can run trend logs with the control system to help identify problems and track equipment use.

The total project cost amounted to $1,905,164. Pendleton used its available (SB-1149) funds of $284,885. In addition, the projects qualified for a Business Energy Tax Credit from the Oregon Department of Energy. Using a pass-through partner who accepted the state tax credit eligibility, the school district was able to receive a cash payment of $124,569 upon project completion.

With an estimated annual energy savings of 35%, the simple payback for the project was 13.5 years.

For more information on EPSC, visit the Oregon Department of Energy Web site.