Objective Report Energy in Bloomington Indiana

Energy in Bloomington Indiana 11/16/2010 Mary Sullivan

The objective is to reduce city energy consumption in Bloomington Indiana by 6% by November 15, 2015 through installation/retrofitting of high-efficiency direct and indirect lighting systems in city-owned property. This objective is important because energy reduction is a vital component of both fiscal and environmental responsibility and vitalization. In the 2010 State of the City address, the Mayor of Bloomington stressed two intended approaches to economic vitalization. The first was to strengthen what they already have, and second to pursue what they still need to "achieve a strong, diversified, local economy." Since lighting is one of the most basic, important, and visible uses of energy it is a prime candidate to be strengthen and improved via an energy reduction initiative. Nationally, the cost of lighting presents approximately 20% of the overall energy consumed. Indiana statistics are consistent with this figure. Commercial and public lighting comprises the majority share of lighting consumption, not residential. Emerging technologies in lighting can provide resources for efficient illumination levels, i.e. adequate lumens per watt, for public use while reducing energy costs. New efficient lighting technologies can reduce energy usage by up to 30% over standard fluorescent lighting equipment, which is the current primary light source in public buildings. New generation lighting to be considered will include CFL: Compact fluorescent light bulbs, LED: Light-Emitting Diodes, High-Intensity Discharge lighting, outdoor solar products, and motion sensors. Implantation of lighting imitative can mean energy savings and significantly lower operating costs for the city of Bloomington.

2) To achieve this objective, the first step would be to assemble a task force to determine and carry out the steps necessary to achieve the stated objective. Key players in this step include Mayor Mark Kruzan and The City Council who, as the city's legislative body, are responsible for the City's property and budget, and the appropriation of funding. The task-force would be responsible to a) conducting an inventory of all city-owned property and real estate that utilizes lighting systems, including city-owned buildings, parking lots, parking garages, light signals, and lighted signs. The inventory should include key information such as the property address/location, and number/kind of lighting currently being used, b) select a performance contractor to conduct an energy audit of city-owned property. An Energy Performance Contractor seeks to find energy-saving improvements within an existing budget by financing them with money saved through reduced utility expenditures, they make recommendations for improved direct and indirect lighting systems including retrofit, new systems, and natural lighting options, c) analyze collected data to prioritize property improvements in order of most cost-efficient way to proceed with lighting system updates, d) determine a cost analysis of initiative including initial investment for new generation lighting as well as a detailed analysis of long-term savings to be realized by the installation of high-efficiency direct and indirect lighting systems. Part of this step would involve seeking state and federal loans, grant, and program, including Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, e) consider if any political issues need to be addressed such as compliance to city ordinances, voter approval etc. And f) establish a timeline with concrete action/outcome goals, the party responsible for completing each goal, and a reasonable amount of time to complete each goal. The City Manager, the Community Services Director, and the President Public Works office, are key to this each task because they are responsible to operate and maintain parks and facilities that would be affected by this initiative