June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 16, 2010
LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced that the state of Michigan has achieved a 22 percent reduction in energy use at state facilities throughout Michigan during the last fiscal year compared to FY 2002. If this reduction had not been achieved, the state would have paid an additional $30 million last year in utility costs. Since Governor Granholm took office, the state has achieved a total utility cost avoidance of $89.9 million.
In 2009, state government reduced its carbon footprint by the equivalent of 136,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. This equates to the removal of 25,000 automobiles from the roads for one year, or powering and heating over 12,500 households - more than the entire city of Romulus.
"Michigan was able to save millions of dollars by implementing some common sense practices coupled with new products and technology to reduce energy use in state government-owned facilities," Granholm said. "We are committed to making Michigan a greener state by doing our part to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Many of the steps we have taken in state facilities citizens can take at home to help protect their pocketbooks."
Michigan has a building portfolio of over 6,000 facilities. Energy Use Reduction Coordinators (EURC) representing each agency meet regularly to exchange ideas, gather information, and provide updates on their progress. The Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB) has provided the leadership in reaching the energy reduction goals established in the governor's executive directives. Some of the DTMB projects that have cut energy usage include but are not limited to:
turning lights and computers off when not in use;
reducing lighting, heating, and cooling hours;
replacing high-energy CRT computer monitors with energy-efficient LCD monitors in many offices;
using more environmentally-friendly cleaning products and paints;
performing steam trap audits and repairs to help prevent the loss of energy;
eliminating space and leases through building consolidations;
installing software that integrates building heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, lighting control, elevator monitoring, energy management, and metering to a common control platform;
promoting environmentally-sound purchasing, use, reuse, and recycling of materials among state vendors;
installing occupancy sensors in most facilities to turn off lights when no one is present;
retrofitting and replacing fluorescent lighting to more energy efficient T8 (20 percent more efficient) and T5 (30 percent more efficient) lamps where applicable;
upgrading elevators to be smart elevators, which go to sleep when not in use and operate using minimal energy;
replacing multiple air handling systems with fewer, larger, more efficient systems to reduce horsepower requirements for electric motors;
installing LED lighting technology in various buildings; and
utilizing solar voltaic technology as an electric power source.
Since 2003, Granholm has issued a series of executive directives aimed at cutting energy use in state-owned and state-managed facilities. DTMB instituted energy audits in all its buildings, installed energy-saving technology, and implemented conservation methods to achieve the savings.
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