Ann Arbor, MI, Bans, Discourages Buying Bottled Water

Lexington-Fayette, Ky., Joins EPA Million Monitor Drive, Saves 200,000 KWH

The Achievement

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) in Kentucky joined the EPA Million Monitor Drive. In joining the Million Monitor Drive, the County agreed to enable the power management features on 1,000 of its computers so that they go to sleep when not being used.

Santa Barbara, CA, Switches From Bottled to Tap Water at City Functions

Lexington-Fayette, Ky., Greens Its Vending Machines

The Achievement

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) in Kentucky has reduced the energy consumption of its vending machines in the following ways:

• Turned off the display lights in many vending machines. This can save as much as $30 per year for each machine and results in a CO2 reduction of over 1,300 pounds/year per machine.
• Purchased 20 Vending Misers for Parks and Recreation vending machines to further reduce energy usage. These can save approx $175 per year per machine and result in a total CO2 reduction of over 70 metric tons per year.

Lexington-Fayette, Ky., Saves Energy, Money, and CO2 With Smart Lighting

The Achievements

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) in Kentucky has lowered energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions with the following smart lighting choices for its buildings:

• Installed sensor activated lighting controls for select office space at the Adult Detention Center. The estimated energy savings is over 18,000 kWh/year and CO2 emissions are reduced by approximately over 16 tons per year. This also reduces our energy cost by $1,100 per year.

• Purchased 392 LED EXIT signs in 2006. Installing tLED EXIT signs will result in an annual energy savings of approximately $5,000 and an annual greenhouse gas reduction of 104 metric tons. Also purchased 235 programmable thermostats in 2006.

• Recently completed an upgrade of the 10th floor lighting at Government Center with more efficient fixtures which is expected to reduce energy usage by 100,000 kWh/year and will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 92 metric tons per year.

[Source: Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government website]

Chicago, IL, Institutes Bottled Water Tax

Salt Lake City, UT, Mayor Calls for Ban on Bottled Water

Lexington-Fayette, Ky., Educates Employees on Energy Conservation

The Achievement

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) in Kentucky established an internal Energy Management Team, developed an Energy Management Policy, and implemented an energy conservation program to educate employees on the importance of energy conservation. As part of the energy conservation program, wallet cards containing energy conservation tips and environmental info (along with a holiday schedule) are distributed to all 3,300+ LFUCG employees each year.

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Montgomery County, MD, powers 2,700 homes with landfill gas

The Achievement

Montgomery County, Maryland installed a gas collection system for the Gude Southlawn Sanitary Landfill in Rockville, MD. The landfill was open for almost 20 years and collected an estimated 4.8 million tons of waste under 91 acres. Forty-four wells were established to feed an on-site generation facility with two generators to recover the landfill gas and turn it into electricity.  The 1,500 kilowatt electrical generators are connected to the local power grid and revenues are generated from selling this electricity to Potomac Electric Power Company under a 20-year agreement.

San Francisco, Calif.’s energy efficiency measures save businesses and residents $21 million annually

The Achievement

The City of San Francisco has implemented sweeping and innovative energy efficiency measures for both government operations and the San Francisco community.

To reduce community-wide energy use, the City implemented the following successful commercial and multi-family residential energy efficiency programs: Power Savers, SF Peak Energy Program, and SF Energy Watch.