Energy efficiency earns former GE plant a rebate

Welland’s former GE Brilliant Factory generated a big rebate through the use of energy-efficient lighting.

Welland Hydro’s conservation manager Sylvia Denton, along with president and chief executive officer Wayne Armstrong and Perry Orosz, director of customer service and employee relations, made a stop at the factory — now called INNIO — to drop off a cheque for $157,205.

“When we found out GE was coming to Welland we reached out to them during the planning stages and started them on the high-performance new construction program through saveONenergy,” said Denton from inside the facility.

Glenn Olney, GE construction manager for the plant, said the two groups worked together on the facility as a whole from a power standpoint.

Denton said the majority of the company’s application to the provincial program, through Welland Hydro, was for energy efficient lighting.

The 45,000-square-metre building was fitted with state-of-theart LED lighting, with controls, that cover all areas of the plant. Located on the west side of Highway 140 between Buchner Road and Silverthorn Street, the company builds reciprocating gas engines.

Olney said the company bought the most energy-efficient lights it could.

“It saves them about 75 per cent of energy as compared to the old inefficient lights, about 2.2 million kilowatt hours. That’s the equivalent of 120 homes off of the grid,” said Denton.

She said the saveONenergy is open to business and residential customers in Welland and runs until 2020.