NPC receives $67K rebate check for energy savings

National Park College was presented with a $67,191 rebate check from Entergy Arkansas Inc. for their work to reduce energy use on campus.

The college developed a strategic energy plan in response to former governor Mike Beebe’s Executive Order 09-07 and Act 1494 of 2009, which challenged state agencies to reduce their energy consumption by 20 percent by 2014, and 30 percent thereafter.

The Board of Trustees approved a campus-wide lighting project last year to help reduce campus energy consumption. The college partnered with Entergy and CLEAResult, an energy consulting agency hired by Entergy to help large organizations reduce their energy consumption.

Entergy offered incentives through the CitySmart Program to complete the threemonth project, which had a total cost of $259,444. The college was presented with an incentive check for $67,171 from Entergy for completion of the project.

Annual utility savings are estimated to be $38,330, a four-year return on investment. The lighting project included 946 fixtures changed to more efficient LED lights, 604 fixtures changed to T8 bulbs, installation of 267 occupancy sensors and updates to emergency lighting.

Over the past six years, NPC has worked to increase awareness and prioritize energy initiatives on campus, including revising an Energy Conservation policy to include building and renovation standards, and utilizing Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager to track and monitor utility data.

The 2014 Strategic Energy Planning Compliance Report indicated total energy use intensity (EUI) was reduced by 11.51 percent from the 2008 baseline and 16.14 percent when weather normalization was factored. The 2015 report will be available in December.

The college also installed low-flow faucets across campus to help reduce water consumption and invested in software to help move the campus toward paperless work spaces.

“We appreciate the financial incentives Entergy Arkansas has given us to upgrade our facility to both save money and to reduce our energy usage,” said Janis Sawyer, vice president for financial affairs. “These upgrades are good for the environment, which is very important to both the college and our community.”

“Entergy Arkansas Inc. greatly appreciates the participation of National Park College in the CitySmart program,” said Beau Blankenship, Energy Efficiency program manager.

“The high-efficiency lighting installed by the college will help to reduce their annual electric energy costs, as well as reduce the need for future power generation, in turn, saving energy costs for all of Entergy Arkansas’ customers.”