Rising utility costs widen search for conservation measures at UNR

Before the recent spike in energy prices, Buzz Nelson found himself looking for conservation savings in vending machines and other fairly modest users of power.

But energy conservation at the University of Nevada, Reno, where Nelson works as assistant vice president of the facilities services department, is getting a fresh look as utility prices continue to climb.

And although much of the low-hanging fruit has been plucked, UNR these days find it's worthwhile to climb a little higher into the tree to pluck savings from bigger and more complicated projects.

The school recently earned a $10,000 incentive check from Sierra Pacific Power, for instance, after it invested $623,000 in energyefficiency fluorescent lights for 400 poles and 3,780 interior lights at campus buildings.

The investment will cut the school's energy bill by about $90,600 a year and generate operational savings of $14,400 a year.

In the past 13 years, UNR has invested some $15 million in energy conservation, harvesting returns of $2.5 million annually.

As prices move upward, Nelson said more projects begin to make economic sense.

"They are some of the more complex issues that are much more difficult to implement," Nelson said.

The school has completed major work to increase the energy efficiency of 54 of its 90 buildings work that typically includes new windows and additional insulation but that leaves 36 buildings that could use a look.

State law requires that energy conservation projects at UNR pay for themselves within 15 years, and the state requires that the savings be guaranteed by the contractor.

The recent lighting project, for instance, was handled by Siemens Building Technologies Inc.

While higher energy prices create more opportunities for cost-effective conservation measures, some of the potential savings have been eaten up by higher construction costs to get the work done, Nelson said.

Sierra Pacific Power's incentive program, dubbed "Sure Bet" by the Reno-based utility, is designed to improve the payback of conservation effort by commercial customers.

Some of the fastest payback is found in replacement of lighting, said Karen McGinley, an engineer with the program.

For straightforward projects such as lighting replacement, Sierra Pacific maintains a schedule of incentive payments it will make.

For larger,more complicated jobs, the utility calculates the incentive payment on the basis of the amount of power saved and whether the savings come during peak usage hours on the company's grid.

The program has allocated all its available funds for this year, although it's accepting applications for a waiting list.