Green Bay Area School District Recognized For Energy Savings in New Video Series

District’s Efforts Saved Taxpayers $9.7 Million Since 2002

GREEN BAY, Wis. (January 28, 2013) The BlueGreen Alliance — a national coalition of some of the country’s largest labor and environmental organizations with a joint membership of over 15 million people — today released a series of three videos recognizing the Green Bay Area Public School District for its efforts to provide a cleaner and more energy efficient learning environment for its students. The videos can be seen on the BlueGreen Alliance’s YouTube (http://bit.ly/UZC9ha or see below for individual movie links) and Facebook pages.

“The Green Bay Area Public School District made a wise decision when it decided to look at its energy use while attempting to cut costs,” said BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director David Foster. “The dollars saved by cutting energy use can be put directly back into the classroom, and these efforts have successfully created good jobs for area contractors.”

“We aren’t done yet,” said Jeff Christens, responsible for the district’s Energy Management systems. “These energy efficiency improvements were our first step in ensuring we are using our energy wisely. We’re very pleased with the results so far, and we have more work to do.”

The District began considering how to reduce its energy use in 2002, and they have since saved the District an estimated 46.5 million-kilowatt hours of energy, 5 million-therms of gas, 163 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions and $9.7 million.

The videos — which include interviews with Green Bay Area Public School District officials and several of the Green Bay-area contractors  — discuss several of the energy efficiency upgrades, including:

• The installation of Direct Digital Controls (DDC) systems at 37 of the District’s schools allowing the District to better regulate and monitor each building’s energy use;
• The replacement of outdoor air control dampers in order to better control the air entering and leaving the buildings;
• The use of a Peak Demand Limiting system that encourages the schools to pre-cool their buildings and limit energy use during high-demand times;
• The development of new HVAC control sequences that optimize energy savings; and
• The installation of pass-through lighting in the middle and high schools which dim the lights when the hallways are not in use.

“These energy efficiency projects are not just good for the taxpayers and the environment; they are a learning opportunity for the students,” said Christens. “We are using our projects to teach the students how to save energy, and we are showing the high school students new and exciting careers.”

The District’s education efforts efforts begins as early as elementary school, with children being told about the importance of turning off lights. The efforts extend all the way to high school where the students can take courses about the renewable energy and energy conservation careers of the future.

—–

Links for the BlueGreen Alliance’s videos are as follows:

• Greening Green Bay Public Schools (5:00): http://youtu.be/NvT2hMWOalE
• Teaching an Energy-Wise Generation (1:31): http://youtu.be/Le7ZlOviMuE
• People Behind Green Bay’s Energy Savings (2:16): http://youtu.be/TZQbSi9rFhw

###