CITY SAVING ON ENERGY
Grando seeing results
Solar panels, turbo blowers and LED lighting are some of the city energy projects that, combined, save or generate $3.6 million worth of power annually. “There’s a significant amount of money being saved, there’s no question about that,” Sergio Grando, the City of Windsor’s manager of energy initiatives, says of the list of a dozen projects — either recently or soon-to-be installed — that reduce the city’s energy bill and help the environment. Though the projects are expensive, costing a total of $15.7 million, the payoff can be substantial.
For example, it cost $1.1 million for new energy efficient turbo blowers to use in the aeration process at the Lou Romano Water Reclamation Plant. But there was a government incentive worth $298,000 and the blowers save 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which translates into $255,000 in savings annually. Since put into commission in October of 2015, they’ve saved $510,000, reduced electricity consumption by 2.9 million kWh and reduced carbon emissions by 138 tonnes. The payback period — the time it takes for the savings to pay off the original cost — is just 3.1 years, so those blowers are well on the way to being paid off.
They have the best payback period among the projects, whose paybacks range as high as 9.1 years. “A four-, five- or six-year payback on these projects is reasonable,” Grando said recently as he explained a recent report on energy projects from 2014 to present. “My cutoff is 10 years. I hesitate to go to council with more than a 10-year payback period.”
The listed projects either save energy or generate power that can be sold back to the provincial system. The total amount of energy saved or generated is 22.9 million kWh annually. That’s about what it would take to power 2,290 houses. The projects include solar panel systems (called photovoltaic systems) on the rooftops of the city’s larger buildings. One on the Windsor International Aquatic and Training Centre, installed three years ago, generates 500,000 kWh annually, and earns $260,000 under a 20-year contract that pays well above the market rate. A PV system installed in 2016 on the roof of the WFCU Centre generates 750,000 kWh annually, as does a system that went into operation in January on the roof of the Transit Windsor headquarters. Combined, these three PV systems cost $4.7 million and generate $750,000 worth of electricity annually. Two more PV projects are in the works, at the parks and recreation maintenance yard and the Little River Pollution Control Plant. They’re projected to generate $100,000 annually.
The conversion to LED lighting is underway now at a cost of $3.45 million. It’s projected to save $550,000 annually in electricity costs, with a payback period of 6.3 years.
In addition, there are three combined heat and power systems either installed or about to be installed in the city’s Huron Lodge long-term care home, the WFCU Centre and the aquatic centre. Using natural gas as the fuel, a highly efficient generator produces electricity and the byproduct — thermal energy — is captured to heat the building and water. The systems, which cost between $1.6 million and $2.1 million, generate savings of $203,000 to $520,000 annually, with payback periods ranging from 4.1 years to 8.2 years. The three systems were partly funded with government incentives worth about $2.6 million. They ’ll replace 14 million kWh that was coming from the provincial electricity grid and in addition provide 65 to 70 per cent of the buildings’ heating requirements.
The city used about 78 million kWh of electricity last year. Grando said the city is continuing to research more ways to save energy. The city is looking into big battery systems so an operation like the Lou Romano plant that requires lots of power could store cheaper power (either from solar systems or the provincial grid at non-peak times) for use during peak times. Another possibility is geothermal systems that take heat from the ground to heat and cool buildings. Even though the city can no longer tap into lucrative government programs that paid premium prices for city-produced power over 20-year contracts, solar-powered systems are still being investigated.
“Now we’re looking at various rooftops. Without government involvement, put a PV system on these roofs and whatever they generate goes right into the building,” he said.
A four-, five- or six-year payback on these projects is reasonable. My cutoff is 10 years.