12/17/09
Grant application asks $85,000 in stimulus funds for energy-efficient lighting
The town is hoping that a federal community block grant will help fund an investment in energy-efficient lighting that could ultimately save $56,420 in energy costs per year.
At their meeting Dec. 14, 2009, the Town Council approved an application to the Maine Public Utilities Commission for an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Grant in the amount of $85,000. The grant, if awarded, will be used for lighting upgrades in all three Cape Elizabeth school buildings and the Community Center.
"The (ad hoc) Alternative Energy Committee recommended these lighting projects as the best option in applying for the currently available stimulus funds," according to the council's agenda for Dec. 14. "The local match requirement is 10 percent but with the short payback period it is advised to complete the lighting changes in all four buildings."
At the same meeting, the council approved the use of $52,000 of unallocated funds from a 2008 bond toward the grant match and the lighting upgrades.
The estimated payback period in terms of electricity charges is 2.4 years. The payback return on the local part of the investment is a little more than a year, and the 15-year savings is estimated at more than $846,000, according to the agenda.
"There's a considerable amount of environmental enhancement as well," Town Manager Michael McGovern said at the Dec. 14 meeting. The annual energy savings is projected at 280,881 killowat-hours, with a savings of more that 4 million kwh over the 15-year lifetime of the lights. Nearly 96 million British thremal units will be saved annually, with a projected lifetime energy savings of 14.3 million Btu. Both estimates are based on 3,000 hours of use per year, McGovern said.
Before authorizing the grant application, the council heard an update on funds remaining in the 2008 bond, issued for capital expenditures that included site improvements and signalization at the intersection of Ocean House, Shore and Scott Dyer roads. Those intersection improvements, however, were rejected by the council in August 2009.
Eighty percent of the $2.55 million in bond proceeds have been spent, McGovern said, with an additional 9 percent allocated and soon to be spent. The council's action Dec. 14 authorized $52,000 of the remaining $262,965 to be used for the lighting updates. McGovern will recommend that uses for the remainder of the bond money be considered during 2011 budget preparation.
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