The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Phase 1 of $15M energy savings project may be done by August
NEW MILFORD — Boilers, a cooler tower and solar panels are some of the energy-saving equipment installed in town and school buildings as part of an energy savings project. Installation should be complete by the end of the summer.
The equipment will be financed with savings from a $15 million energy performance contract the town signed.
“I’m very excited,” said Mayor Pete Bass. “We’re almost at the end of the completion of the project which will benefit the town in cost savings with the ability to get these much-needed capital items ... with the same dollars that we are currently using for energy costs. Making it a triple win-win is that we have a savings on our carbon footprint for our environment here in the town.”
The new equipment consists of two cogeneration systems, or CoGen, which were installed in the high school, along with two new boilers and a new cooler tower. Cogeneration refers to the simultaneous production of two or more forms of energy from a single fuel source.
“They run on natural gas and during times when we need a real demand with the electrical needs of the high schools, the CoGen plants kick in and it dramatically reduces the electricity we need to bring in from the grid,” Bass said.
“The excess heat that’s put off from the CoGen gets used to help the boilers so everything runs much more efficiently . ... Because natural gas is so much cheaper… it’s going to save the district energy costs,” he added.
Bass said the savings anticipated from the CoGen systems will fluctuate daily and depend on how much energy the school district is using.
Bass said solar panels have been installed on the roof of Sarah Noble Intermediate and Hill and Plain Elementary schools. Solar panels have also been installed on the roof of the town’s police station, 49 Poplar St., and on the roof of the ambulance barn on Housatonic Avenue.
Additionally, new heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment has been installed at Sarah Noble Intermediate School.
Bass added new LED lighting will control the energy output in town buildings — including Town Hall, the senior center, the Department of Public Works buildings and John Pettibone Community Center — and in all school buildings.
Partnership
The town signed a $15 million energy savings performance contract in 2021 with Energy Systems Group, or ESG, to install the energy and infrastructure equipment in town facilities and school buildings. The town will use the savings and energy credits generated from the new equipment to pay for the project.
The infrastructure improvements are expected to result in $19.1 million in total energy and operational savings and reduce New Milford’s carbon footprint by more than 2,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Bass said installation of the equipment started over a year ago.
“We ... had to have our facilities teams, both on the town and on the education side, come up with the list of items they needed to put into this project and make sure the return on the investment worked as we were doing this project,” he said. “Once that was all vetted out, then ESG began to work on installing the equipment, which is what we’re in the phase of right now.”
Bass said the equipment’s installation should be completed toward the end of summer. He said once this phase is completed, the town and board can look at additional needs for the future.