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HMG-CN Community Wire
At last night’s meeting, the Whittier City Council approved moving a variety of projects into the final stages of design to significantly improve energy efficiency at various City facilities. The City studied the energy projects with the help of The Energy Network program, which is administered by the County of Los Angeles and funded by California utility ratepayers under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. The Energy Network helps eligible public agencies to combine resources to save energy, protect resources and reduce costs. The project is anticipated to improve energy efficiency by retrofitting building lighting with LED fixtures, converting 1,665 City-owned street lights to LED, improving HVAC systems and controls, and installing an energy efficient pump for the pool at Palm Park.
The project’s benefits will be substantial as the City will see a savings of over $3,000,000 over the life of the project and will also garner $122,000 in incentives from Southern California Edison and Southern California Gas Company. Mayor Cathy Warner said, “The efficiency project is an excellent opportunity for public benefit in both energy savings and reductions in greenhouse gases. The City Council is proud to help protect the environment and serve our residents through financial stewardship. The level of effort by the Energy Network team is commendable and we appreciate our partnership with this Los Angeles County initiative.”
Through the project, the City will have an opportunity to not only save money in reduced annual energy savings but to also modernize outdated fixtures and equipment, improve occupancy comfort, reduce maintenance, and improve the quality of lighting. Further, the project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to removing approximately 3,100 cars off the road. Facilities anticipated to be improved are City Hall, Community Center, Police Department, Central Library and streetlights in various areas of the city. Work is anticipated to begin in late 2015, upon approval by the City Council after the final design stage is complete.
Other “green” projects undertaken by the City include replacement of the City’s water pumping plant with energy efficient pumps, utilization of landfill gas from the City’s Savage Canyon Landfill to generate power for PIH Hospital, conversion of the City’s trash and maintenance trucks with compressed natural gas (CNG) engines, conversion of traffic signals to LED, and installation of a bioswale along the Greenway Trail to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water.
