‘Energy Leaders’ honored at conference
Winooski, VT
More than 150 participants from commercial and industrial operations around the state joined Efficiency Vermont for a week of learning, idea sharing, and networking at this year’s Best Practices Exchange (BPX).
Now in its ninth year, BPX was held virtually this year due the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s theme was “Resilience.”
Efficiency Vermont Director Rebecca Foster welcomed conference attendees Monday by acknowledging the challenges all Vermonters faced in 2020 and thanking the commercial sector for the significant contributions they make to Vermont’s energy system.
The lifetime benefits of the energy efficiency investments made in 2019 by Vermont’s commercial & industrial energy users will total:
- More than $112 million in energy cost savings
- More than 780,000 megawatt-hours saved
- Nearly 740,000 MMBtus of fossil heating fuels saved
- About 400,000 metric tons of avoided GHG emissions
“What do these numbers say?” said Foster. “Commercial & Industrial customers are not only the backbone of Vermont’s economy, but also critical to Vermont’s success in cost-effectively saving energy and increasing the state’s resilience.”
Efficiency Vermont produced a video celebrating the work of some of the BPX Leadership Award winners. The full list of awardees includes:
Burke Mountain Resort, East Burke, VT: Energy Leadership Award – Commercial Sector
With snowmaking, ski lift terminal heater controls, HVAC, pipe insulation and HVAC projects, Burke Mountain has achieved a combined savings of more than $50,000 per year.
Commonwealth Dairy, Brattleboro, VT: Energy Leadership Award – Industrial Sector
Commonwealth Dairy improved energy efficiency in their yogurt plant by adding variable frequency drives (VFDs) to process pumps and developed several projects for implementation in 2020-2021. These investments will significantly improve energy efficiency and energy data visibility at Commonwealth Dairy and will reduce operating energy costs by over $180,000 per year.
Mount Ascutney Hospital, Windsor, VT: Energy Leadership Award – Institutions
Through many projects, Mount Ascutney Hospital and Healthcare Center has the highest certified ENERGY STAR score in the state of Vermont – 92 – placing it in the top 8 percent of hospitals nationwide. The result of this journey has been lower operational costs and a smaller energy footprint.
Landmark College, Putney, VT: Energy Leadership Award – Innovation
Landmark College embarked on an HVAC retro-commissioning project focused on implementing best in class HVAC control sequences. Software changes alone achieved a 50 percent reduction in electricity and 57 percent reduction in propane consumption. The new controls sequences also allowed Landmark to be a leader in a Flexible Load Management pilot in conjunction with Efficiency Vermont and Green Mountain Power.
NSK Steering Systems, Bennington, VT: Energy Leadership Award – Impact
NSK Steering Systems’ audit of its manufacturing floor in Bennington, Vermont discovered that 86 percent of its machines could be turned off during breaks, lunch, and/or machine down time. New shut down procedures yielded annual cost savings of more than $175,000 and 20 percent reduction in plant electric usage.
R. Soule & Son,Enosburg Falls, VT:Energy Leadership Award – Partner of the Year
R Soule & Son has completed over 108 high efficiency condensing unit installations in Vermont dairy farms and commercial businesses. They have also spearheaded Efficiency Vermont's refrigerant leak repair program, helping customers overcome the cost barriers to achieve leak tight refrigeration systems.
Patrick Giordano, Gifford Medical Center, Randolph, VT: Energy Leadership Award – Energy Champion
Patrick Giordano shares his passion and enthusiasm for energy efficiency every day with his team and the 600 employees at Gifford Medical Center (GMC). He was an outstanding partner of Efficiency Vermont’s Continuous Energy Improvement Cohort for Hospitals where he helped GMC reduce electric usage by 8 percent through employee engagement and behavior programs alone. As a result of the many energy efficiency projects Patrick has spearheaded, GMC is saving approximately $130,000 every year.
About Efficiency Vermont
As the nation’s first Energy Efficiency Utility, Efficiency Vermont has helped Vermont avoid over 13.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence award for the last eight consecutive years. Efficiency Vermont works with partners to help our state transition to more affordable, low carbon energy use through education, incentives, and support for our clean energy workforce. Learn more at www.efficiencyvermont.com.
Efficiency Vermont Press Contact
Matthew Smith
Phone: (802) 540-7662
[email protected]