Missouri Saves More than $1 Million by Reducing Energy Use

https://www.energymanagertoday.com
By: Emily Holbrook

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announced it has saved $1.2 million in energy costs since 2010, including more than $250,000 in 2016 alone.

To reach such savings, MDC installed LED lighting in its largest buildings and switched to climate-controlled systems to adjust building temperatures higher or lower after working hours. The department also installed heating systems that use geothermal energy, as well as motion-activated lighting.

According to hannibal.net, “MDC maintenance staff are also making sure building systems are operating as efficiently as possible with existing equipment and selecting more energy-efficient models when replacing equipment. In addition, all MDC staff are strongly encouraged to turn off lights, computers and other equipment during unoccupied periods.”

Missouri has been in the news this year for energy efficiency initiatives. In April, the Missouri House voted to approve a bill that would allow regulated utilities and rural electric power cooperatives to charge “grid usage fees” to customers with solar rooftops, a move that was largely seen as a tactic for making it tougher for solar companies to compete.

In March, the University of Missouri announced it had reduced its coal consumption by 73% through the use of a sophisticated microgrid. The school uses a “large and complex” microgrid capable of supporting the 34,000-student, 15-million square-foot campus in Columbia. The platform is supported by four coal-fired burners, a biomass-fired burner, four steam turbine generators, a dual-fuel oil and gas-fired boiler and two gas turbines that feed heat recovery stream generators.

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