EttgnGYNnrwonrc

VOL.2 NO. I SPRING 1987

Nebraska Community

During the past threeyears, eleVen fVi:braska-communities and oneneighborhood havedeclded to tap theeconomic developmentpotential of enerArEfficiency by becdiningpartners wilh the Ene-rArbfiice in an effort callecl-the Nebraska CommunityEnergr ManagementProglram.

The CommuniWEnerry Manageme-ntProgram givescommunilies a chance tomake strategic choicesabout their Iuture througha local planning and actlonprocess.

After setting broad,goals for the community's

Plwtqrgphs used thrcughout this dition hanse ben supplied bV tlvNebraskd n*todcal Soc-rety. TheA ilhlstrate tlv uitatity'ahd, vaiety o1Nebraska's cdtfes artd trrwrLs.Energy Management Program

future, participantsevaluate their-energr useand establish goals-andaction plans whichmaintain or lmprove thelocal economv'd health.EnerSr eflici-ency andlocal ?ecision-miking arethe liccus of the proAiam,whlch is furancetl wi-ttrfederal and oil overchargefunds.

In 1985, VerdiAre andthe Omaha Bensohneighborhmd ioinedBuivell, FYem-ont, Allen,South Sioux City, WoodRiver, Schuvler,-WestPoint, Raveiroi, Bayard,and lrxington on the rollof energl..man3gementcommunlues. tlere arehighlightg.from thosecommunlues.

Bayard w€rs one of thefirst c5mmunities toparticipate in theCommunity EnergrManagement ProAram. Assuch,-the planning andimplementation processdit'lbrs from otheicorlrmunities. No definiteAoals were set by thefownspeo pl e, h o:wever,citizens alhieved thefollowing:

OThe town firehall wasweathertzed as ademonstration project.

'Ihe Tournsend CbJh,Grstd IslstdNebraska,

l9s4

An open house was heldto illustrate the benefits ofcommercial eners/conservation.

OThe Ener$r Ofhce GasSaver Van tEsted publicand counW fleet vbhiclesat the firehall open house.

Oe part-time enerArcoorilinator was hiFed topromote energrconservation and theWeathefizn Americacampaign. O

'"',-

Main Stret, Bayard, Nebraska, 19Co

EwnnGYNarwonrc

Seventy-five peopleatte nded- the t-exin^gtonTown Meeting on October7, 1983. At t-hat time,citizens chose to work onthe following goals:

Cioal 7: CplrtdttctAudits on 5O%" ofHom,es antd Busi-lresses

Okxington planned toachieve-this koal bvJanuary l, 1889, dndtargetecl improvements on50% of thos^e buildinAsaudited as a secondarygoal. An Ener$r Bank w€tscapitalued with- $l 03,600in support funds from theSolar Ener$ and EnerArConsewatidn Bank, anif inNovember, an additional$2OOTOOO in CommunityDevelopment Block Grantswas added. Audits areunderway, and over 60homeouriers have usedEnergl Bank financing to

make enerly efficiencyhome improvements.

Gorrl 2: RedueSummq l9U ElcctricPeak bg 5o/"

Oa load managementsystem aided bV the rentalo-f an infrared iamera totarget problem areas ledto i decrease in electricalpeah-o{ 8. 5o/o. The project3aved the kxingtoricommuniW $52,OOO andprovided ekcellenteducational andpromotional benelits toinake citizens aware oftheir enerry consumption.

furrl 3: IntrcduceEnergg H,ucationIWatrlrials into thebmmunidl bg IUIay 31,7984:

OAn enerSr educationprogram was presented toiunior and senior high-students and teaehe-rswere provlded withenergr educafion

materials. In November,over l2OO 4th, 5th, and6th graders from DawsonCounW attended anEnergr Expo.

OEnerSr relatedliteratuie was distributedat booths at the July 4thcelebration and at the

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W r.;. J\"i

1'\xIt

Dawson CountyFair.

Oen Eners ResourceShelf was idded to theIexington R.rblic Libmnr.and riedia coverage of fheevent was provided bvlocal radio stations ariathe newspaper. O

1

*ttq -'-Yu..n,,*.'u\ .r ,n{n'n'* -

il:; ,i ",*/t4,.L,,

^fust Card Lertrgjrrn" Nebraska" ciru, I?IO

UsinA informationAathere? at a TownlVleeting in September,1983, the FremontEnerAr Commission wasformEZi and selected thefollowing goals:

Gro,crl I: InhoduceEnqgg MucationIllotrlrials in thehmmunity by June30, 7984

OA public inficrmationcampaign, lncluding anEner$r Fair anddistriSution of ln formationon energr management,

was implemented. L,ocalradio airA press coveragewas used to incre€rsepublic awareness andsupport.

fucrl 2: CarttductAudits on 25% oJ Loco;lHomes bg Januo;ry l,I989(l5oo/o of all homesaudited are targeted forenergy efficiency^ Fimprovements. An EnerArBank was established antcapitalized with $83,OOOfrom the Solar Energy andEnerAr Conservation Bank.I^ateri$22o,ooo inCommunitv DevelopmentBlock Grafit monies wasadded. Audits areunderway, and theinvestment in the EnergyBank is proiected to save$49,OOo-anhual$. Thisrepresents a 15.9o/o returnon investment forFYemont.

Other EficienryAchieuenents:

Olmprovements in the

city street lighting svstemwill save $6:166 Innually.

Olmprovements to theciW's operational facilitieswin save $15,670annually.

OThe purchase of a moreefficierit ciW bus and workon the ciW-transit svstemwill save $4, l0O anirually.

OAdditional efficiencyimprovements on ci$schools witl save $22,OOOannual$.

lThe installation of acomputerized enerlglmanagement system atthe Dddge CouhWMemorial Hospiti.lwill save $45,OOOannual$.

A total of $619,241was invested inFremont. Annual dollareavings stand at$I2O;OOO, andnepresent a 19.30/6rate of return for thecommunity.

OFtemortt Hottse, FletrTtrtt, Nebraska, ctrca 1880

@al 2: EstqblishFinarrcing.forResidential EnaggImptovetnents

OThe EnerAr Bank w€rscreated andl$S8,ooo infunding obtained from theDepartirent of Housinganil Urban Developmeilt.Preliminarv results showan annual-dollar savings of$ 16,720 for thislnvestment, whichtranslates into an I l.8oloreturn on investment,

Gro,al 3: Audit la,co;lBusiness antd,@mmercio,lEstoblishrnents

O FIftv commercial enerA/auditi were completed 6fthe Nebraska RrblicPower District and IowaPublic Seryice.

OSome businesses havelnstalled reconunendedlmprovements on thelroum; efforts will continueto secure financing forother lmprovements.

Gorrl 4: E;rrltggEd;uco;tion

EusnGYNnrwonx PAGE 3

A total of $192,L75was invested in SouthSiour City to receivean ll.lo/o rate ofreturn. The projectecompleted will aaYGttre townspeople$21,OOO annually andshould Day forthemsefvis in 7.3years. O

OAn Energr Fair was heldin April, 1985. TWenty-one vendors displavedenergy products addprovi?eil in formatio n.

OEnerAr-related bookswere pilichased for theresource sections of thep.ublic and high schoolllDranes.

The Town Meeting washeld during October -1984; citizdns of SouthSioux City selected fourgoals to fork towards:

Gro,o.l I: Weathqize20% oJ the 83 RentqlUnits Rc,eiaingEnetgg Atldits

O3Oo/o of the units auditedinstalled some $pe ofenergl efficiencyimpr-5vement. DollarsavinAs are proiected at$4,60? annu4[y, for a24.3o/o rate of return.

OAn Eners Bank wasestablishecl-to financeenergy improvements.Seventeen rental unitswere weatherfued usingEner€y Bank financing;five diits were financeA bythe owners.

South Sficr.rx CitA Canning Certta.Deprcss&cn Ercr Work hojrct, 1934

.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:':..':.:':.:.:.:.:.r.'.'.'.'J.'.';'.

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The townspeople ofAllen held their TbwnEnerAy Meeting inDecefrber, 1994, andchose four goals. Thoseand the resllting actionsare:

@al l, WeatlvtizeTtra Firchcrll

OThree new ilnsulateddoors were installed onthe firetmck stalls. On thearea of the firehall whichhouses the rescue vehiclesand the communitvmeeting place, twdtnsulated overhead doors

were lnstalled as well asceillng and sidewalltnsuldtion.

OThe annual enerA/savings expected fr-5m theincredsed R-value of thedoors (Rt.5 to R7.35) isequivalent to 8OO gallonsofpropane. Th€ eniergrsavings from the ceiliigand drall lnsulation isexpected to be equivalentto'I,330 gallons bfpropane. altogether,Eneigr cost savings to thecommunltv ls estlmated at$l,3OO anhually.

@al 2r Establlsh ctIlfini-Bus *rtfice

?n .dlrg is beingpoughtto purcn€rse a Dus lor €rnapilropriate scale masstranslt system. The goal ofthe minilbus servicdis toreduce energl consumedfor transportation.

@al 3: @ntinueE}tcrgy Imptotnm.entsin the Allcn School

O A cooperative effortbetweer the Allen Energr

Committee and the AllenSchool Board resulted inAllen receiving $ 14,540from the Enerb OfficeSchool WeatheiizationProgram to finance energrefliciency improvements.

@ol 4: WeothsizeHom.s

OTo date 37 homes havehad enerA/ audits 2OhomeownErs have usedEnergr Bank financing toweatFenze their homes,and six homeowners havemade energl efliciencylmprovements on theirourir. If all the EnergrBank money is expehded,enerAr saviirgs couldreach- 875 billion BTLJs.

A total of $6O,30() waglnvested ln Allen tofGnli-c an al1ualcnergr savings of$5,95(). Thisrepresents a 9.8016 rateof retllrn. Theinvestment wiU pay foritsef in about gevenycaro. O

Watq Plpes, Dircn @tntU, circQ. 19OOLaairW

PAGE 4

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::i::i:ti:ii::iii:::rii:i:,:iiiiffiilPJI?$#ll:il::li:l::i:ii::li::i:liiilli

The Ravenna communityheld a Town Meeting onJanuary 5, 1985 an-dselected three goals:

Grc,al 7: Support theTrees -for Enetg1yPrograrln

Othe Ravenna Tfees forEnerfv Frogram receivedtreesTo plait during thespring. Resources Ior thispioiedt includedlssistance from theOmaha World-Herald andthe Game and ParksCommission. Contactwasalso made with the StateForester and the NaturalResource District toprovide additional help forthe ongoing efficrt.

C'oaI 2: WeathqizeHomes

OTtvo hundred of

EwnnGYNnrwonrc

Ravenna's homes werescheduled for walk-thrgugh energy efficiencyaudits. Auditors weretrained, and thepossibiliW of creating aI*4 eneiry bank wdselcl)lorecl.

Grc,crl 3: Crcate SmcrltSenrice Bu^sinessfulreloprrent hoject

OThis project iq designedto create new iobs andindustry in Rdvenna. fulinitial rirarket4g sgrueyw€rs completed andcontacts were made withlocal serwice agencies.Plans for addifionalmarketing research havebeen deve-loped.

A totd of $34,476\Pas invested lnRavenna to receive anarulual energr savingsof $1,3OO. T-hisrepresents a 4o/o ratcofreturn on theinvestment. O

Hinman's Uvery & Hack Une,Rauenncr, Nebraska, circa 1880

scheduled to demonstratethe benefits and potentialof solar energy.

fua,l 2: Weathctlze25% oJlrcal Homes

O 159 free home energraudits have beenrequested or completed,antl $88,ooo in aiailableEnerEr Bank fin4ncingand 6'cal funds have beendisbursed ficr homeenerry efliciencyimprovements.

@ol 3: bmm.erciaUIndustrialWeotherization

O t2 Schuvler businessesrequested 6nerAr audits;thi Schuyler EilergrCommlssion is erploringftnancing for energefficiency improvementsin local busiiresses.

@al 4: Recgcling toScrrp Enety1y

OSchuyler received an$t t,OO0 grant from theDepartment ofEnvironmental Control forcompaction and recyclingequipment at the citylandfill.

O Schuyler's investmentsin enerfu efliciency willgeneratE $299,485 inhcome for the area overthe next I O years, andresult in the creaUon or

retention of the equivalentof five full-time io6slasting gne yeai during1985.- $34,08o wasinvested from the EnergyBank and $10,436furvested tn schoolweatherization.

A total of $179,356was inveeted inScuyler to receivc anannual energl_ saviagsof $19,6()0. ThisrcDrcsents a 1O.9/orate of return for thecity of Schuyler. O

wsLLs AFB0TT NIAS,IAN io{tt FtOe{TH SIpE. :}r.:t{{.;y1.9-11. .iiiia,

Welts Abbt Nierrrorn Mill, Sctruyls, Nebraska. 1920

EttnnGYNmwonrc PAGE 5

The Wood River TownMeeting was held onJanuaiy 26, 1985. At thismeetini, ttre townspeoplechose five goals to worktoward:

fua;l l: Ptomote WatcrCottsrlnntion ThtoughWatcr U* Mucotlon

OResearch was conductedon water rates andconsumption for the area.Information on savingwater was made avaifableand further publicityplanned for the spri-ng.

Gp,rrl 2: homotc HomeWerrtherizo;tion

OTtre Wood River Ener$Bank recelved $2 l,SOOToflnance home energlefficie ncv improvements.Citizens-wer6 trained toperform simple enerArludits, and in Open-Househeld in Octoberencouraged homeownerparticipation ln theprogram.

@al 3: Ireuelop aWd,@opOThe Town EnergrrCommlttee conduEtedpreliminary research andinterested baties areplanning a market analysisfor p5oriloting the use o-fwoocl enersl.

Goal 4: Deueloo abmtnunitg Wi;rdbrq.k

OTrees were planted atthe Good SamaritanCenter ficr a

demonstration proiect.Information is dvallable onwind breahs and plans foradditional planting areun(lerway.

Goal 5; hpnotcPnbtic Building ErrrltggManagentent

OThe Nebraska RrblicPower District hascompleted audits of theFire Hall, CtW Hall, SewerPlant, fiUrari, CiWGarages, and PoliceStatidn. The results werepresented to the CiWCouncil and a Rrbli-cBuildinA WeatherDationPlan will be developed.

A totd of $31,320was lnvested in WoodRiver to receive anannual enerllr cavingsof $2,1OO. lf,isncDreaents a Toh rateofreturn for WoodRiver. O

Wd.Riurer, Nebraska,circa 1890

Ptlato bg fuIoman Btftcller,

West Point's TownMeeting was held onMarch -lg, 1985. Citizenshave been working onthree goals chosen duringthe Town Meetlng:

fual I: EnnggAwareness thrcugh-Ed,ucotion

OEnergr education and aneners/ expo have beenprovitled to 597 Cuming^CounW 4th, 5th, and 6Ihgradeis. Their teachershave been given tips onintegratirg.eqer,ry_ _,economtcs into the schoolcurriculum.

OAn EnerAr Fair was heldoctober 2E 1985, at theciW auditorium. Tlvohundred and Rftyindividuals attend ed 24diflerent seminars onenergy efliciency.

OThe CuminA CounW Fairfeatured a Uodttr with

enerA/ related literatureprovftled by the WestPolnt Energy Committee.An estlmatEd 2oo-3oopeople picked upliteratuie and discussedenersr concerns.

OThe Cuming CountyCooperatlve ExtensionService no\v offers artenerAr workshoP forhomFmakers agwell as4-H awards for energrrelated speeches andprojects.

@al 2: Recgcling toSaue Enetg1y

O Collection of papermaterials and ciil forrecvclinA continues at thecitv landfill, with sales ofth6 material collectede:rpected to save 5OOmillion BTUs for WestPoint. The material soldearned $357 thus far andsaved the $2OO-3OO costof burial.

@al 3: Utility RotcInput

O The "Beat the Peak"

publlc lnficrmatlonbampalgn and lnstallatlonof addit"ional load controlswltches on home airconditloners reduced thesummer peak in 1985 by777 kiltowatts per hour, areducilon which shouldsave the ciW about$35,OOO tn

-wholesale

power costs.

A total of $6o,7o2was lnvested ln WestPolnt to receivc anannual savings ofQL?,7OO. \trest Pointhag redized e zLo/orate of return on ltsinvestment. O

Ftrst Nat&onal Bar*, West ^btnt, Nebroska ,1880

PAGE 6

The tovmspeople ofBurwell held theii lbwnMeeting on March 19,1985, and chose fourgoals for the community.Ttre results:

C,oal l: ExploreAltz;rnrrtfurc-fuurces oJEnergy

O The Burwell RrblicHousing Authority building

EnnnGYNnvwonrc

was chosen for a SolarDemonstraticn Proiect.Three solar panelshavebeen installtid on thebuilding and the next stepis an oDen houseto dembnstrate thebenefits of solar ener$.The proiect is expectet tosave'gSb annually.

Gro,rrl 2: Weatlvrlze75o/o of Loco;lnou*hrold,s

f Burwell townspeople seta god to audlt 75o/6bf the

homes in the countv.Home enerAr auditdrswere hired Ena trained.Audits are in progress andan Energy Bailk frasAranted $21,25O tolinance home energlellicie ncy improvements.Iacal citlzens can nowschedule an audit andmake use of EnerA/ BankIinancing to comp'lEteaudit recorrunendations.Energy Bank lnvestmentsare pioiected to saveBurivell over $2,5OOannually.

@ol 3: EnerygDd;uco;tion

Oen energr column in thelocal newspaper coversenerAr lssueS. Interestedhdiifduals are lnvited tosubmit their articles andopinions for publication.

OThe Burwell EnergyConrmlttee sponsored anenerA/ booth at theGarffild Countv Falr ln1985. They a6trrUuted

in formation concerningenergr audits and otheractldties, and followed upon requests for moreinformation.

@al 4: ReducgEnetuu @sts in Publi,cBuitiffngs

OlnsulatinA draperieswere hung th the BurwellSenior Home, ceiling fanswere tnstalled, and lheshower heads wereretrofitted with new water-saving models. Theseimprovements areexpected to save $4OOannually.

A total of $119,196,was invested inBumell to receivc enannual cnergr eavingsof $1(),967 (ot e, *hretrrrn on thccornmunitv'sinvestmenl. O

The l*:ofttabb ftlrk SpaiaL RaiboadTlain atBuntseil, Nebraska, &tofur 8, 1929

The Jobs SavingEnergr Program wzrs bornin Veidigrebut of theNebraska Department of[.abor's Farmers lnTransition Program. OnApril 2, 1985, lbecommunity held aStrategic Choices townmeeting. ThetownspEople decided onthe foflowing goals:

C,orrl I: PtomotcExisting Business

OThe town firehall wasweatherized todemonstrate mainstreetcorrunercial consewatlonresources. The total costof the proiect was$ 16,99I ;

-energy cos!savin{s are proiected topay folr the Cfliiiencyim-provements in 2.7years.

OAn application licrfundinlbf a commercialeners conservaticlnprojett was prepargd andaDproved lor suDmlsslonto the Department ofEconomii Development.Verdisre subsequentlyreceiv?d a $258:ooo

-

Communlty DevelopmentBlock Grarit targetrid forenerlg conservationprojects.

OA promotional brochureto encourage businesslnvestment-and tourismhas been produced.

@ol 2: Ptotsfid,e FloodbnttolfiIgdrcelectricfuurcr via crDo;m

OAfter carefulconsideration of the areaand the opportuniilesavailable,'the EnergrOffice and thetownspeople concludedthat this goal held littlepromise 16r thebommunit5r.

@ol 3: Promorr- Fopd,Prrocesslng ond, theFarm Ecottomg

OTfansportatlon costscan contribute up to halfthe cost of produte. So tocapture the energy savingsand keep lncome

in the communiW, trFarmers' Market-was heldand a contractor washired to further assist theyrllage ln developingdirect producer-to-consumer marketingsystems. O

Ploner Home artd, Family, KrTotc County, 187Os

EnnnGYNnrwonx PAGE 7

The Omaha Bensonneighborhood held itsEne-rgy Meeting on- April27, 1985. Benson becamethe first urban-orientedCommunity EnergyManagement ProgramparticiDant. Citizens3electe^d four goals:

@ol I: Promotc HomeEnetgg EfficienclgImprcuenents

OThe local energrcommittee, BERT (BensonEnerSr Resource Team),held En enerAI chautauquaon Septembei8, 1985.The event featuredbooths, lectures, financinginformation and hands-ondemonstrations of enerlyefficiency homeimprovements.

OBERT incorporated in1986, in preparation forestablishinent of a

revolving loan program toassist h6useho'ldefu infigagcing energre[rcrency nomeimprovements.

@al 2: Work ulthUtilities

OBERT plans to openchanne6 of 'communication with localutilities to increaseconservation efforts. Theproject awaits BERT'srncorporauon.

tual 3: ReshrcTncrnqporto,tlonCornrerrut

OBBRT contactedOmaha's TlansportationDepartment with a list oftra"ftic problems in theBenson neighborhood.Citv ofticialS eventuallyadilusted trafnc signal6 formSre efficient pe&strianand motor traffic throughGreater Benson's businessdistrict.

fuo,l 4: hpmotcMucation o}plut Tnees

OTtre Benson Chautauquafeatured a presentatlon onthe "Plant iWo Tfees forEnerAr" proiect whiche>cplfned the enerA)/efficiency potential-

available fromappropriately plantedtrees; future presentationsare planned. O

Nebraska Energr ManagementProgram Communities

This material was prepared with the sulport of rhe u.S. Department of Eneqv @oE) Grurt No. DE-FG47-80cs69109 and oil overcharge Escrow Funds.

fiffiff';y d"ffi; i,iairig., cqrclusrons, on to.n-*&i"n-r;rp*i-Ga'd;i" i* ttrore or ttte auhor and do nc necessarily reflect-the views of floE-

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