Henderson energy initiatives save money, help the environment

By Paul Takahashi

Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011 | 4:48 p.m.

Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen spent much of his State of the City address Thursday touting the city’s energy efficiency initiatives over the past several years.

America’s premier community, he said, is not only saving energy and the environment, but also saving residents millions of taxpayer dollars.

“Our efforts already qualify the city for more than $931,000 in energy rebates and have made us the leader in the valley in energy programs and savings,” Hafen said.

Hafen heralded the completion of a four-year, multi-million dollar green initiative that officials say will pay for itself in 15 years.

Henderson began working with energy firm Ameresco in 2006 to find ways the city could become more energy efficient. The Massachusetts-based company identified more than 20 areas where the city could save money and drew up a three-phase plan to implement the improvements.

During the first and second phases from July 2006 to May 2007, Ameresco helped the city install new boilers and replace interior and exterior lighting at the Robert Swadell Justice Facility, changed 64 traffic signals to LED lights and upgraded the pool-heating system at the Whitney Ranch Recreation Center.

In the final stage, which began in March 2009, the city retrofitted 28,000 streetlights with induction technology that uses 30 to 60 percent less energy than the previous yellow sodium lights, and can last up to 20 years.

The city also replaced 4,000 building light fixtures, installed two photovoltaic arrays and retrofitted more than 300 plumbing fixtures. The $20-million upgrade is expected to save the city more than $1.7 million annually, paying for itself in about 11 years.

In all three phases, the energy efficiency measures will cost the city nothing, as Ameresco’s performance contract with the city guarantees annual energy savings of $2 million, which will offset its cost and essentially pay for itself over 15 years, officials said.

“Ameresco’s a great company with a great track record,” said city spokeswoman Kathleen Richards. “We don’t doubt the savings they are projecting.”

“The savings (so far) are above and beyond those calculated,” said city architect Mark Hobaica. “We found that we would pay off (the first phase of retrofits to the justice building) in six years.”

Henderson has no immediate plans to construct new buildings, officials said. However, all new city facilities moving forward will strive to meet LEED Gold standards.

The city has racked up the highly sought after efficient building certification over the last several years. Henderson’s three newest facilities – the North Command Police Station, the Henderson Aquatics Center and the Heritage Senior facility – all meet LEED Gold standards.

But it’s not just new lights or upgraded HVAC systems. The new police station boasts two solar panels that provide 45 percent of the energy to operate it, and the new pool uses geothermal technology to pre-heat the water.

“We’re kind of cutting edge here,” said city spokesman Bud Cranor. “This stuff just hasn’t been tried before.”

Henderson is also considering installing a hydroelectric system for the water utility service. Turbines in the city’s water pipes will provide energy to operate the Southwest Water Reclamation facility that will treat up to 8 million gallons of water a day when it opens in the summer.

While the savings are good news for a city recovering from the recession, officials contend the investment is really about the environment.

The emission reductions from the green initiative have the environmental equivalent of removing 3,045 cars from the road or powering 2,253 houses a year, officials said.

In addition, Henderson launched a pilot recycling program in October that allowed city employees and 20,000 participating households to utilize single-stream recycling. The program allows Republic Services to pick up a single bin with cardboard, glass and aluminum, doing away with separate bins for each.

Since the program began, recycling jumped from 6 percent to more than 30 percent, Hafen said.

“We’re excited about those numbers and look forward to evaluating ways to continue this program.”