Story by Nicole Carlson

At La Plata Electric Association in Durango, selling electricity goes hand-in-hand with reducing the amount of energy its members use and offering them the option to power their homes and businesses with renewable energy. As a result of its successful programs in these three areas, the Durango-based electric co-op was recently awarded the Green Power Leadership Award by the U.S. Department of Energy. LPEA was the only rural electric cooperative in the nation to receive the honor.

Speaking to the recognition, LPEA CEO Greg Munro noted that credit goes to the LPEA staff and board, as well as the communities served by the cooperative, for doing their parts to promote renewable energy and energy savings.

Although the award was based on the co-op’s success in its voluntary green power program — Just One Block — LPEA also supports local renewable generation projects, including providing rebates for residential and commercial solar arrays and installing PV panels at local schools. Additionally, La Plata Electric has worked with a number of local businesses and the city of Durango to install more energy efficient technologies, including LED lighting.

LPEA’s commercial lighting retrofit and Kill-A-Watt programs have helped both businesses and homeowners enjoy significant savings on their electric bills by reducing the amount of electricity consumed.

The Durango Chamber of Commerce/Visitors Center saved $1,600 last year on its electric bill after replacing lighting and completing other conservation measures related to energy efficiency.

Durango’s historic main street has also seen an energy-efficient makeover as the city of Durango upgraded its high-pressure sodium street/pedestrian lights to energy efficient light emitting diodes. LPEA’s Mark Schwantes, manager of corporate services, said preliminary data indicates that the city will see an average annual electricity reduction of 30,660 kilowatt-hours as a result of this lighting retrofit.

“This is going to translate into an approximate $3,000 reduction on the city’s annual electric bill,” he added.

The streetlight upgrade was completed through a partnership with the city of Durango, LPEA and Tri-State.

Beyond streetlights

Streetlights are just the beginning, however, for combined energy efficiency efforts of the city of Durango and LPEA. Through results obtained by a review of the city’s energy consumption, the cooperative identified areas where changes in operations and rates could provide savings. Based on those results, a number of energy efficiency measures were employed including time-of-use and load management, as well as HVAC system and lighting upgrades at some of Durango’s major facilities. In 2009, the city of Durango reduced its energy consumption by 362,000 megawatt-hours for the year.

“It was all pretty simple stuff in concept, but we didn’t realize how significantly it could lower our energy use,” said Greg Caton, former assistant city manager for Durango who oversaw many of the city’s initial efforts.

The city even developed a website separate from its main site that provides information on recycling, public transportation and the “Green Team.” The aforementioned group was established in 2007 and works to address a number of objectives, including the efficient use of energy.

Caton recognized that the changes have equated to great energy savings for the city and that they have their local rural electric co-op to thank for that.

“We really appreciate all the work La Plata [Electric] has done for us with the analyses and consultations,” he said. “They do a great job leveraging what Tri-State offers and educating the community on what can be done to save energy.”

The Durango-La Plata County Airport also has jumped on the energy-savings bandwagon, completing a number of major capital improvement projects centered around saving electricity. Visitors flying into the area can view one of the larger projects as they descend on the airport — a 20-kw PV rooftop solar array — the second-largest solar array in La Plata County.

Upgrading the HVAC systems, applying window tinting and replacing lighting are additional measures the airport has taken to save energy. Ron Dent, director of aviation for the airport, said the recent upgrades are just the beginning as plans for future projects are in the works. Overall, Dent said he is pleased with the results they have seen so far.

“A lot of little pieces have come together to make it work and we’re getting there,” said Dent.

Although the most noticeable energy-efficient upgrade in Durango’s downtown would be the streetlight retrofit, a number of businesses that call downtown home have partnered with LPEA to increase their energy savings. Termar Trends owner Yandell Beans has seen a “huge energy savings” after installing CFLs throughout the interior of the home furnishings and art store.

“Because it was a pretty major investment, we were reluctant at first to replace the lighting,” said Beans, who owns the business with his wife, Naomi. “But, once we did it, we were very happy with the results – not only the energy savings, but also with the lighting itself.”

Local restaurant owner Jim Carver has a strong interest in renewable energy and energy efficiency, which are illustrated through the choice of lighting used in his business. Additionally, Carver Brewing Co. utilizes a solar-thermal water heater system, for which the restaurant’s water supply is heated by a rooftop PV solar array. Installed three years ago, the system is the largest of its kind in southwest Colorado.

Carver Brewing Co. is a participant in LPEA’s green power program and has received rebates from the co-op and Tri-State through the commercial lighting retrofit program.

One would be remiss to visit Durango and not include a trip to the landmark Strater Hotel. The hotel has been a mainstay on the town’s Main Street since 1887 and is on the U.S. Historic Hotel Registry. And, just like many of its neighboring Main Street businesses, the Strater Hotel has made a number of energy-efficient upgrades including lighting and the installation of heated windows in the hotel’s fine dining restaurant.

All of these changes contributed to the hotel’s recent recognition by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an ENERGY-STAR® rated hotel – the only member of the Historic Hotels of America to achieve such a milestone.

Decades of energy savings

Tri-State plays a large role in the energy-saving projects LPEA has helped facilitate throughout its service territory. The association’s EEC program — which celebrated 25 years in 2010 — encourages and rewards energy-efficient purchases and practices. The majority of the aforementioned projects that have been completed in LPEA’s service territory were made possible by funds from the G&T’s EEC program and the local rural electric cooperative.

“A lot of this happened because of Tri-State and its EEC program,” said Schwantes. “This is a case where everybody is working together to get a better solution for saving money and energy and it’s obviously working. We’ve seen tremendous results and look forward to what the future holds.”

- Reprinted from Tri-State Generation and Transmission's Network Winter 2011