Schools Miss Out on $40 Million in Energy Savings
Image Courtesy of http://lsatsensei.blogspot.com/ - Image Courtesy of http://lsatsensei.blogspot.com/ An audit by the State of Oregon has found school districts missed out on $40 million of potential energy savings by an ineffective use of money intended to help them save energy.
The audit found that during 2009 and 2010, schools received $15.7 million for energy efficiency measures, such as improved lighting, heating and insulation.
But after examining 6,859 measures taken by schools across Oregon from 2002 to 2010, the audit found:
"....that school districts did not consistently implement the most cost-effective
measures or realize the greatest energy savings. We estimate that, had
districts implemented the top-ranked measures instead, they could
potentially have achieved almost $40 million more in anticipated district
utility bill savings and gained an additional 70% energy reduction over the
collective lives of the measures compared to the estimated results of those
measures that were actually implemented."
- conferring stronger authority to the Department of Energy or another entity to review and approve school districts' planned energy measures;
- providing more specific guidance on cost-effectiveness results or other desired outcomes for the measures; and
- revising the methodology for allocating energy surcharge funds to prioritize high energy use school buildings or providing the Oregon Department of Energy with authority to reallocate future funds from districts with large balances to districts with more high energy use school buildings.
