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Strategic Energy Management

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Operations, Engineering and Administrative staff have completed the first year engagement with Energy Trust of Oregon to develop strategic energy management (SEM) strategies with an objective of reducing energy costs at select facilities such as our wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and pump/lift stations. SEM focuses on no and low-cost operations and maintenance improvements that deliver energy savings.

Starting in October 2019, City Staff developed a SEM program that resulted in a total energy savings of 539,995 kWh.

The entire SEM Energy Team worked diligently to develop a strong and lasting program, including:

  • Maintaining an actively engaged Energy Team.
  • Participating in regular energy team meetings and check-in calls with the Energy Trust appointed SEM Coach.
  • Conducting a treasure hunt and value graphing event that led to the identification of seventy-four energy saving opportunities.
  • Completing an Energy Management Assessment that characterized the state of SEM practices and additional opportunities for future implementation.
  • Expanding communications of SEM beyond the energy team to key stakeholders via newsletters and Facebook posts.

These SEM practices resulted in a variety of energy saving projects, including:

  • Optimization of aerators significantly reduced the runtimes of nine blower/mixer units (total input power of 132.8 kW) from 8,139 hours/year to 4,529 hours/year.
  • A series of projects to turn off or turn down four - ten kW heaters across all pump and lift stations.

Energy Savings for First Year SEM were calculated using bottom-up engineering calculations. The following table summarizes the energy savings and Energy Trust incentives for our First Year SEM engagement.

 

Electricity

Baseline Period

10/09/2017 – 09/30/2019

Engagement Period

10/01/2019 – 11/30/2020

Reporting Period

10/01/2019 – 09/30/2020

Predicted Baseline Usage

1,544,516 kWh

Estimated Annual Savings

539,995 kWh

Percent Savings

34.96%

Estimated Annual Utility Cost Savings (1)

$39,582 per year

Energy Trust Incentive (2)

$21,600

Energy Trust Milestones Achieved (3)

$3,000

Total Energy Trust Incentive

$24,600

(1) Assumes energy cost of $0.0733 per kWh
(2) Incentive rate is $0.04 per kWh verified savings
(3) 3 out of 3 milestones were achieved at $1,000 per milestone

Staff has completed fifty-four energy savings projects to date consisting of optimizing aerator operations at the WWTP, lighting upgrades, programming/adjusting temperature set points for thermostats and exhaust fans and turning equipment off when not in use.

Staff are enrolled in an additional year of Continuous SEM where we plan to expand our SEM scope across Public Works to the drinking water side and reinvest incentives from the First Year SEM engagement into additional efficiency upgrades.

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