43
Study: Youngstown could save up to $1M on energy
YOUNGSTOWN
The city can save $700,000 to $1 million annually and decrease its greenhouse-gas emissions by switching its lights in traffic signals and streetlights to energy- efficient LEDs and making improvements and upgrades to its facilities and operations, according to a study.
Global Green USA, an environmental nonprofit organization, released the study Friday after spending a year preparing it.
The study doesn’t include an estimate of how much it would cost to make the changes.
The study was an inventory of the city’s operations and facilities, and a detailed audit is needed for a cost estimate, said Matt Petersen, Global Green’s president and chief executive officer.
The city is committed to reducing its greenhouse-gas emissions by 10 percent for its government and 20 percent for the city by 2020, and by 30 percent and 40 percent, respectively, by 2050.
Electricity makes up 71 percent of the city’s energy-use emissions, the report states.
The city pays almost $5 million to power itself annually.
Global Green recommends installing LED (light-emitting diodes) lights in traffic signals and streetlights. That could lead to energy savings of 30 percent to 60 percent annually.
City council discussed that idea April 26 with David Turner, FirstEnergy Corp.’s external-affairs manager for Mahoning and Columbiana counties. At that meeting, Turner said there is a cost reduction in using LEDs, but the replacement expense is “very high.”
Mayor Jay Williams, who supports Global Green’s study, said Friday that FirstEnergy should permit the city to install LEDs in streetlights because Youngstown is footing the bill for the electricity costs.
The city also could reduce its energy expenses by an additional 10 percent through equipment and operations upgrades to the city’s buildings, particularly the wastewater treatment plant, the report states.
If the city does nothing, Youngstown’s greenhouse- gas emissions should decline by 2.84 percent by 2015 because of its steady population decline, according to the report. By 2050, that decline would be 16.56 percent.