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July/August 2008, Vol. 86, No. 6

COVER STORY

Beyond energy efficiency

Is renewable energy your next step?

Related articles:

For a company focused on rooftops, it’s not surprising that Thule Inc., a maker of vehicle roof racks, looked to its own roof for a solution to runaway energy prices. The company will “use our building’s roof to reduce and stabilize our energy costs,” says President Fred Clark. In August, a 308-kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) system will be installed at Thule’s U.S. headquarters in Seymour.

“We’re on top of a hill, with a wide-open view of the sky,” explains company spokesman Karl Wiedemann. “We looked into wind and solar systems. Solar seemed like the best option.”

A growing number of Connecticut companies apparently think the same thing. Besides doggedly working to become more energy efficient, they are using or planning to use clean, renewable energy technologies. Solar panels are sprouting on the roofs of commercial and industrial businesses, including very small ones. Several large facilities are reaping clean energy from fuel cells. Even a few wind turbines are coming online in Connecticut.

What’s behind the flurry of interest in renewables? Soaring energy prices, for one thing, are making renewable energy technologies more cost competitive. State government incentives available through the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) are helping too.

Three years ago, when the fund opened its doors, “it was very difficult to get companies interested in our programs,” says CCEF President Lise Dondy. Recently, though, “There has been a sea change for us,” she says.

Dave Ljungquist, CCEF’s associate director of project development, adds, “In the last 18 months, demand for our programs has increased dramatically.”

Reasons for using renewables

Should you consider renewable energy, too? Although it does require an upfront investment, “most renewable technologies give you a lot of control over future energy costs,” says Ljungquist.

Some companies are using renewables for other reasons besides energy prices and state incentives. For example, The Lee Co., a 60-year-old family business based in Westbrook, investigated renewable energy after several power outages idled production. The company makes miniature fluid-control components used in aerospace, biomedical and other industries.

“Having the plant closed in the middle of the workweek prompted us to look into generating our own power,” says facilities manager Leighton Lee IV. Like Thule, The Lee Co. chose to install a 308-kW solar photovoltaic system at its Westbrook facility.
Barrett Outdoor Communications, a small, family-owned billboard company in West Haven, did likewise — but for yet another reason. “At the time we installed our system, our concerns were the environment and global warming,” says John Barrett, a partner in the company.

With energy prices surging since then, that has turned out to be a good decision from a financial standpoint, too.

“When we first got the solar panels, electricity was cheaper,” Barrett says. “We thought we could make it a break-even situation where we could help the environment without having to spend much more money [than we already were]. Under those old electric rates, the payback time was long — about 12 years. Now that electricity rates are higher, paybacks are getting more beneficial,” he says.

Ljungquist adds one more reason for using renewable energy: “It helps reduce our country’s dependence on foreign oil.”

First: Be energy efficient

Before using renewable energy, however, “cut your consumption,” advises Barrett. “Don’t invest in any generation technology unless you first ‘lean down’ to be as efficient as possible in your use of power.”

“Energy efficiency is far and away more cost effective than investing in renewable energy technology,” agrees Ljungquist.

Thule, for example, has made “substantial improvements in lighting, maintenance and operations over the past few years to achieve significant energy savings,” Clark says.

If you want to participate in CCEF’s program, you must pursue energy efficiency. “We require that companies adopt energy efficiency measures in order to get our incentives,” says Dondy. “We were the first fund in the country to require this linkage between efficiency and renewables.”

As Ljungquist points out, “It would not be a good use of ratepayer money for us to give incentives to companies that are not energy efficient.”

CCEF asks businesses to get an energy audit by their utility company and then adopt any recommended efficiency measures that have a payback of five years or less. “We ask [companies] to ... provide evidence of the energy efficiency measures they’ve adopted within the last three years,” he says. “We’ll work with any company whose building comes close to meeting new building codes for lighting and energy consumption per square foot.”

Barrett Outdoor Communications had an energy audit done by United Illuminating (UI) and made a startling discovery: “Our office consumed more energy when we weren’t here than when we were!” says Barrett. “When you figure that you work in the office eight to 10 hours a day, the office is closed two-thirds of the day, and on weekends. But the various electronic elements in the building continue to consume power.”

He says UI helped them look at their power consumption at peak times and off peak (or after hours). “When I saw that most of our energy consumption occurred off peak, I bought little devices called Kill A Watts. They’re meters that measure how many kilowatt hours are being used by electronic devices.

“We learned that our largest single consumer of electricity was our copy machine. A copier generates heat — it’s like having a toaster running continuously. Water fountains continue to cool water. Soda machines continue running. The air conditioning, even if it’s set on low, uses power. So do the exit signs. A plethora of little things — printers, computers — all add up.”

The company now turns everything off at the end of the workday, he says. In addition, “We got rid of the big soda machine; it’s more energy efficient to use a small, electric cooler for soda. We updated all the exit lights to LEDs, with [financial] help from UI. We updated our office with the newest generation of efficient lighting. We essentially reduced our lighting energy use by 50%,” Barrett says.

“We’re a billboard company,” he notes, “so we’re investigating LED lights for our signs. One sign in Stratford now uses 65% less energy. We’re looking to expand our PV panels and are now investigating whether wind power might make sense.”

 

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