Winona County, city reap energy cost savings - McKinstry plays vital role
April 2010
Energy efficiency improvements helped reduce the city of Winona's energy costs by more than $120,000 in 2009, while similar upgrades saved Winona County more than $27,000 last year.
The savings came from small changes such as retrofitting city traffic signals with LED lighting and changing light fixtures in county buildings to use lower-wattage bulbs, according to data presented this month by the city and county. But the small changes were part of a big investment, as the city and county spent more than $2 million to implement the upgrades as part of contracts with McKinstry, a company that helps businesses improve energy efficiency.
The improvements helped more than just the municipalities' bottom lines - carbon dioxide emission at county buildings were reduced by more than 250 metric tons, while the Winona Public Library, city's central garage and city stoplights produced 200,000 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide last year than in 2007, the statistics show.
Those totals should grow, since many of the upgrades weren't in place during all of 2009, said Dan Wicka, Winona's environmental health and safety coordinator.
"Remember, some of these weren't completed until July," he told Winona City Council members Monday night, noting that he was "fully confident" the savings would increase over the course of a full year.
The push for energy-efficiency grew out of Sustain Winona, a coalition of the city, county, Winona public and Catholic schools, and the city's three colleges focus on reducing environment impacts. In 2007, the seven members pledged to cut the solid waste they generate by 25 percent, reduce their electricity usage
by 10 percent and trim the amount of fossil fuels they consume by 5 percent by the end of 2011.
That's where the McKinstry-devised improvements came in. The company has guaranteed the city and county's costly energy efficiency projects will pay for themselves within 15 years.
The early results are promising. The county saved $2,300 more than projected, meaning its project should pay for itself one year sooner, said Greg Ackerson, a McKinstry development director. And the city's methane digester and microturbine system at the wastewater treatment plant just went online in December - an upgrade projected to save Winona more than $45,000 in 2010, officials said.
Original Report by Dustin Kass
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