Shared Savings for River Falls Industrial Center

• Image

Pictured from left to right, River Falls Industrial Center Owner Tom Elbert, Project Manager Dave Wiley, RFMU Utility Manager Carl Gaulke, WPPI Energy Services Representative Weston Arndt, and RFMU Conservation Coordinator Mike Noreen. Submitted photo.

Talk about it

River Falls Municipal Utilities will be providing financial assistance for a local business, River Falls Industrial Center, to help fund electrical energy efficiency upgrades through the utility’s new Shared Savings program.

With funding provided by its nonprofit power supplier, WPPI Energy, River Falls Municipal Utilities established the Shared Savings program to pay business customers, like the River Falls Industrial Center, up-front for up to five years of annual cost savings associated with energy efficiency projects.

River Falls Industrial Center recently upgraded and replaced outdated T12 linear fluorescent fixtures with new high performance T8 lights and made HVAC improvements at the facility on St Croix Street. The newly installed lights require less energy to operate and incorporate occupancy controls to shut off lights in areas that are not being used.

“Helping businesses and organizations save energy and money is good for the economic well-being of our community,” said Carl Gaulke, Manager of River Falls Municipal Utilities. “Many businesses delay the replacement or improvement of inefficient equipment and building components because the initial purchase costs are perceived as an obstacle. The Shared Savings program helps our customers, like the River Falls Industrial Center, overcome initial cost barriers to making energy efficiency improvements in their facilities. Funding projects with advance savings can make expensive projects feasible for small businesses.”

Through the Shared Savings program, the advance payment covered much of the purchase and installation costs of the lighting upgrades for the production floor and office spaces and will be repaid in monthly installments on the company’s utility bills.

River Falls Municipal Utilities estimates that as a result of the lighting upgrade and other improvements, River Falls Industrial Center will reduce their electrical usage by 198,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year. This savings is the equivalent of more than 341,000 pounds of CO2 emissions avoided.

For more information on the Shared Savings program or opportunities to save energy, contact Mike Noreen at 715-426-3467 or visit

www.rfmu.org

Tags: river falls, business, energy