The April Top Partner Solutions are here! Check out this roundup of solutions from partners across sectors to learn how organizations are progressing towards emissions reduction and energy savings goals.
City of Saint Paul Improves Efficiency, Community with North End Community Center
To address the lack of community services and recreational activities in one of its fastest-growing and most underserved neighborhoods, the City of Saint Paul constructed the North End Community Center. The building design features high-efficiency geothermal heating, roof-mounted solar, and more, resulting in anticipated annual energy and cost savings of 80% and $100,000 respectively. Read more.
Whole Foods Leverages Low Global Warming Potential Refrigerants and Efficient HVAC to Improve Scalable Sustainability
As Whole Foods Market expands their retail footprint, the company is committed to growing responsibly by making their stores, facilities, and operations even more energy efficient. Whole Foods invested in alternative refrigerants and installed more efficient HVAC systems at its brick-and-mortar locations as part of this strategy, reducing energy use and lowering climate impact. Read more.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools Implements Energy Conservation Measures at Administrative Building
To improve efficiency at its Fort Smallwood Facilities Directorate administrative building, Anne Arundel County Public School District implemented LED lighting upgrades, energy management equipment, and water-efficient features, as well as a 1.4 MW ground-mounted solar farm. Through these efforts and others, the school district reduced the building’s annual energy use by 18%. Read more.
Elme Communities Establishes Active Peak Load Management System
Facing an increase in capacity charge costs, Elme Communities sought to optimize its existing energy intelligence software to allow properties across its portfolio to anticipate and avoid peak loads at critical times while minimizing impact on operations. The expanded operational software changes successfully reduced peak capacity by 770 kW and achieved annual savings of $30,000. Read more.
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts’ Wyndham Green Program
In 2019, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts rolled out the Wyndham Green Program to help guide hotel owners in reducing operating costs through efficiency projects and other sustainability efforts. Since the program’s inception, the hospitality provider has certified many of its hotels, accelerating progress toward its broader emissions reduction goals. Read more.
UC Irvine Develops Integrated Smart Lab Program
As part of its sizable emissions reduction goals, UC Irvine recognized a crucial opportunity for energy savings at its laboratories, which consumed approximately two-thirds of total campus energy. Through the development and implementation of its integrated Smart Lab program, entailing retrofitting for increased efficiency while maintaining safety, the university demonstrated up to 60% energy savings and lower maintenance costs. Read more.
Cleveland-Cliffs Furnace Replacements Lead to Major Savings
After five decades in operation, Cleveland-Cliffs’ Burns Harbor hot strip mill pusher-style furnaces needed to be replaced, opening up an opportunity to reduce energy usage and emissions and improve overall mill productivity. By replacing the existing furnaces with walking beam reheat furnaces, Cleveland-Cliffs achieved 2,100,000 MMBtus of natural gas savings per year and approximately $8.4 million in fuel savings. Read more.
Sparkfund Enables Fleet Electrification Upgrade with Help of Local Subsidies
Seeking opportunities to help its client electrify its fleet, financial ally Sparkfund took advantage of local EV subsidies to reduce the purchase cost of seven vans by 30%. Compared with the existing diesel vans, the fleet electrification reduced Sparkfund’s client’s estimated carbon footprint by 60%. Read more.
University of Nebraska Medical Center Leverages Renewables for Decarbonization
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) made headway on its emissions-based goals by installing nearly 1,500 solar panels on several buildings on campus, including the Maurer Center for Public Health. Through the combined solar installation, which is the largest in Nebraska, UNMC saved over 230,000 pounds of CO2 emissions and reduced annual energy use by 45%. Read more.
EAH Housing Expands Solar Benefits for All in Affordable Multifamily Housing
Multifamily housing provider EAH Housing has been installing solar in California and Hawaii since 2008. To bring the benefits of renewable energy to both its low-income residents and the company, EAH Housing leveraged California’s landmark Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing incentives to install approximately 380,000 kWh in solar, with anticipated resident savings of $2.8 million over 20 years. Read more.