PUD pushes conservation efforts
Published 8:40 am Thursday, February 2, 2012
EVERETT — It looks like 2011 will be another record conservation year for the Snohomish County Public Utility District.
According to PUD spokesman Neil Neroutsos, 2009 and 2010 were the strongest conservation years in the utility’s history. Although 2011 numbers have not yet been released, a preliminary peek suggests that PUD and its customers have turned in another stellar effort.
“In the last 30 years, our customers have realized enough energy savings to serve about 75,000 homes,” Neroutsos said. That’s more than 100 megawatts of energy.
Figures for 2010 alone show an all-time high conservation savings of nearly 9.2 average megawatts of energy — enough to power about 6,500 homes.
As a side benefit, that kept an estimated 8,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, a byproduct of energy use, out of the atmosphere. This is one of the reasons that PUD officials call conservation both the cheapest and greenest energy source.
Educating, assisting and challenging customers to ever-greater conservation efforts is an ongoing focus at PUD. It is a focus that has been aggressively ramped up over the last few years, Neroutsos said, with programs such as the award-winning Be a Conservation Sensation campaign.
The current PUD Energy Challenge, for business and residential customers, sets an energy reduction goal of 10 percent for individual participants. So far, 130 businesses and about 3,300 residential customers have taken up that conservation challenge with more expected to join.
Beyond the challenges, PUD has continued to run promotions that help customers weatherize homes and upgrade to more efficient appliances and fixtures. There are appliance rebates, incentives for installing ductless heat pumps and discounts for the purchase of energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs. The utility is still taking residential orders for E-kits that include a free low-flow showerhead and faucet aerators.
A comprehensive solar energy program called Solar Express is another part of PUD’s conservation efforts. To make solar energy a viable alternative, the utility offers low-interest-rate loans and financial incentives to customers who install solar-power systems. These include photovoltaic installations to reduce the amount of electricity customers need to purchase from PUD.
Photovoltaic setups can earn credits for customers during those times when their systems produce more power than they use and the excess power is sent back onto the grid. The program also provides cash incentives for customers who install solar hot-water systems.
PUD now has more than 200 commercial and residential customers who have installed solar panels on their rooftops. Their combined solar energy production now stands at one megawatt, double their solar energy output of two years ago.
For those who worry the Puget Sound region has too many gray days to successfully run solar energy, Neroutsos points to Germany, a solar energy leader, as an example. You don’t have to have blazing sun every day to produce solar energy, he said. More information will be provided at free Solar Express workshops around Snohomish County later this month.
PUD also makes a point of working closely with business customers both to reduce their costs and to help them meet their green initiatives, Neroutsos said. The largest project of this kind to date has been at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. During construction of the new Cymbaluk Medical Tower, PUD worked with designers to maximize energy efficiency. The hospital can now expect to save up to 7.5 million kilowatt hours per year.
Neroutsos encourages business owners to contact PUD and allow the utility to work with them to identify potential savings. In addition to having staff members with expertise in many industries, PUD also has trade allies that may be able to help determine what conservation opportunities are available in each industry.
Neroutsos also wants customers to know that PUD practices what it preaches. The utility has taken up its own 10 percent energy reduction challenge and has made lighting upgrades, changes to heating and ventilation controls and other measures within its own facilities.
The utility is moving toward a more fuel efficient vehicle fleet as well. A hybrid diesel-electric service truck has been added to the fleet and an all-electric Nissan Leaf sedan is being tested.
PUD is committed to recycling, too, Neroutsos said. There is an ongoing effort to reduce paper use. Double-sided printing is set as a default on all of the utility’s printers and electronic forms are used whenever possible. These efforts have cut paper consumption by 25 percent in the last three years.
The utility’s environmental affairs unit examines products, such as the solvents the company purchases for cleaning, to see if there are any hazards associated with their use or disposal and what the product’s effect might be on the waste stream. Dollar cost and environmental cost are considered.
But conservation can only stretch power so far. PUD is examining renewable and green energy sources.
Wind energy is already purchased through some contracts in Eastern Washington and Oregon. About 8 percent of PUD’s energy comes from wind. Late last year, a small hydro-power project opened north of Sultan.
Future PUD projects may include local geothermal energy sources. This would use heat from deep beneath the Cascade foothills to produce energy. There is also a study focused on tidal energy gathered on the west side of Whidbey Island and around Admiralty Inlet.
On the web
Learn about PUD’s solar energy resources at www.snopud.com.
