$550,000 in annual energy and water cost savings fund the cost of necessary
infrastructure upgrades
LUDLOW, Mass., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hampden County Sheriff's
Department and the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management
(DCAM) recently completed a 2-year energy and water conservation project
that will greatly reduce energy costs and the facility's environmental
impact. Working with Constellation Energy's Projects & Services Group, the
Hampden County Sheriff's Department made significant improvements in the
energy efficiency of its buildings and infrastructure-measures that are
expected to reduce power and water costs by approximately $550,000
annually. Savings created by the initiative are used to fund the cost of
the new infrastructure, resulting in no upfront costs for Hampden County or
taxpayers. The conservation efforts at the correctional facility and
administrative offices also qualified the project for more than $222,000 in
utility rebates from Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) and Bay
State Gas. The energy and water efficiency retrofit was accomplished almost
entirely using contractors based in Hampden County and Massachusetts.
"We're successfully addressing rising energy costs, replacing equipment
at the end of its useful life, and the environmental impact of the Hampden
County Sheriff's Department with this initiative," said Sheriff Michael
Ashe of the Hampden County Sheriff's Department. "What is most significant
about this conservation project is that by working with Constellation
Energy, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and our utility partners, we were
able to use the savings created by the improvements to finance the
upgrades."
Improvements were made facility-wide, from additional building
insulation, to installation of low-flow faucets and showers, to fluorescent
lighting and smart, centralized climate control and energy management
systems. Altogether, more than 4,400 light fixtures, 1,400 water fixtures
and 55 rooftop air handling systems were upgraded as part of the project.
"This was a tremendous collaboration between the Hampden County
Sheriff's Department, DCAM, Constellation Energy, and the utility
companies," said DCAM's Commissioner David B. Perini. "The project enabled
Sheriff Ashe to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent at the
facility, and it is a great example of how agencies can work together with
private vendors and utilities to meet the ambitious targets laid out in the
Governor's Executive Order 484."
Under the Administration's Executive Order, issued last spring by
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, the commonwealth's agencies are
required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent and energy use by
20 percent by 2012.
"We left no stone unturned in finding ways to improve the efficiency of
Hampden County's facilities," said Robert Belyea, business development
manager for Constellation Energy's Projects & Services Group in Lowell,
Mass. "We evaluated every aspect of the facility to determine where
upgrades could result in conservation of energy and water, and then we
deployed the latest in high efficiency technologies and smart systems to
reduce usage. Even incremental improvements can really add up to major
savings over time."
In many cases, simply updating equipment that was more than two decades
old resulted in savings. The correctional facility's kitchen hood controls,
for instance, were replaced with systems that operate only when they detect
smoke or steam from cooking activities. This measure greatly reduced loss
of climate controlled air vented to the exterior by fans running
unnecessarily during general operation of the equipment.
WMECO provided $122,000, and Bay State Gas provided $100,000, in energy
efficiency rebates for the project.
"WMECO is proud to partner with the Hampden County Sheriff's Department
in helping its facility save both energy and operating costs. The
'soup-to-nuts' energy efficiency upgrades will save millions of dollars in
energy costs in the near future, and WMECO is pleased to have had a role in
the project's success. Hampden County Sheriff's Department's commitment to
the environment and saving taxpayer dollars will produce impressive
results," said Rodney Powell, president of WMECO.
"We are extremely pleased to be part of this comprehensive energy
efficiency effort," said Bay State Gas's Derek Buchler, manager of Demand
Side Management. "Engineering estimates indicate that the Hampden County
Sheriff's Department can expect to save almost 138,000 therms in the first
year and have a lifetime savings estimated at almost 1,275,000 therms. This
is enough energy to heat over 1,000 homes for an entire year. This project
also highlights the cooperation between Bay State Gas, its public sector
customers, Western Massachusetts Electric Company, and the state sponsored
energy efficiency programs. Collectively, we have the ability to take
control of energy costs."
SOURCE Hampden County Sheriff's Department
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Related links:
http://www.constellation.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/084087.html /
CONTACT:
Rich McCarthy of Hampden County Sheriff's
Department, +1-413-547-8000, Ext. 2126; or Aaron Koos of
Constellation Energy, +1-410-470-7433
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