Savings of $2.2 million a year in utility costs can be expected by Pennsylvania as it reduced energy consumption in its state-owned buildings by 18%. This was announced by the Department of General Services (DGS) Secretary James P. Creedon during the 2009 Energy Expo, which was themed “Energy Conservation At Home and At Work,” last April 30 at the Keystone Atrium in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

"When Governor Rendell put DGS in charge of an energy-management and conservation campaign in all state-owned buildings through executive order in 2004, he challenged us to lower our energy consumption by 20% by 2011. Having reached 18%, I am very confident that Pennsylvania is well on its way to shattering that goal,” Creedon said.

According to Creedon, the measures instituted by Gov. Edward G. Rendell since July last year increased Pennsylvania’s energy conservation rate from 10% to the present 18%. Among the said measures are: setting temperatures in buildings to 75 degrees during summer and 67 degrees during winter, controlling interior lighting, using fuel efficient vehicles, and cutting electricity use during peak demand periods.

The Guaranteed Energy-Savings Act (GESA) projects currently being implemented in Pennsylvania were also credited. These projects, available to local governments, school districts, and other organizations, improve energy efficiency in buildings without up-front capital expenditure. The energy and cost-savings earned are used to cover the actual costs of the projects. Several GESA program measures include heating and ventilation upgrades, adding of insulation, replacement of incandescent lighting with fluorescent light, the use of low-flow restroom fixtures, or replacement of single-pane windows with double-pane.

Nearly 266 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, enough to power 25,000 homes, can be further saved by Pennsylvania once its 38 GESA projects have been completed. A reduction of 136,768 tons in carbon dioxide emissions annually will also be avoided, an amount equivalent to the removal of 23,890 passenger vehicles from the road annually.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also ranked Pennsylvania as 12th this week on its national list of renewable energy purchasers, with the state buying 30% of its annual electricity from renewable sources, such as wind and hydroelectric. It is also the only US state included in the EPA’s top 25. In line with this, Gov. Rendell directed DGS to raise its green power purchases to 50% by mid-2010. A 50% green power use is equal to more than 500 million kilowatts, enough to power about 50,000 homes in the cities of Allentown and Easton.

Creedon also cited the state’s purchase of recyclable products (e.g. paper with 30% post-consumer fiber, motor oil, toner cartridges) or Energy-Star compliant appliances as having been helpful.

The 2009 Energy Expo is hosted by DGS and featured almost 60 booths of state agencies, energy service companies, utilities, and transit agencies, which showcased the latest in energy-saving products, services, and programs.


-  Jen Balboa

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Sources:

¹ http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/energy/1300
² http://www.prnewswire.com/