Alliant Energy: College Community School District invests in energy-efficiency

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Aug 18, 2009 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) --
LNT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The new Prairie Point Middle School and 9th Grade Academy provides state-of-the-art educational space. Included in the construction of this high quality school is a state-of-the-art energy management system and geothermal system optimizing energy efficiency. To recognize the school district for its commitment to energy conservation, Alliant Energy will present the College Community School Board of Education with an incentive check for nearly $380,000 at tonight's school board meeting.

The school features separate areas for each grade level and a large cafeteria/multi-purpose room designed for future growth. Students will enjoy the full gymnasium as well as a practice gym. The music wing features full band and choir rooms as well as practice and ensemble rooms. There are special areas for Industrial Technology, Art and Living Skills. The energy management system will be programmed to sweep the building for any systems to shut down after hours to decrease unnecessary energy use.

When the district made the decision to build a new school, they wanted to build a 'green' facility. Before getting started, the district invited Alliant Energy into the design process. The building went through an energy-efficient evaluation process provided by the Commercial New Construction program offered through Alliant Energy. The planning team evaluated options available to reduce energy consumption and heating and cooling costs to reflect the school's commitment to being 'green.'

'We evaluated several potential energy conservation strategies College Community School District could consider in building the new school,' said Jennifer Bronson-Strategic Account Manager, Alliant Energy. 'College Community leadership was willing to commit to energy-efficiency on the front end allowing us to achieve much greater fiscal and environmental results.'

By partnering with Alliant Energy while the school was being designed, a variety of energy conservation strategies were considered, including roof and wall insulation, dimming daylighting and occupancy sensors as well as closed loop geothermal system. These strategies were modeled prior to construction so that the school could see anticipated energy savings, incremental costs, and utility incentive amounts.

Alliant Energy's CNC program helped decrease expected electricity consumption by nearly 60 percent, saving more than 2,712,243 kWh of electricity each year. This results in the school saving an estimated $191,172 in annual energy costs and earning nearly $380,000 in energy efficiency rebates.

'Alliant Energy is one of few service providers that rewards and cherishes commitments and initiatives for energy efficiency,' said Dick Whitehead, Superintendent, College Community School District. "Because of the incentives Alliant Energy included as a part of their program, we will save the district money, reduce CO2 emissions and have a positive impact on the environment."

In addition to lowering its energy bill and receiving a cash incentive from Alliant Energy, College Community School District is also doing its part to reduce its environmental impact. By choosing to make the building more efficient than required by the State of Iowa building code, the energy efficiency measures will avoid more than 1,948 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. This is equivalent to removing about 357 passenger vehicles from Iowa roadways or planting about 443 acres of trees.

The Commercial New Construction program is available to Alliant Energy's retail electric and/or natural gas customers in Iowa. To qualify, new commercial buildings and building renovation projects must be located within Alliant Energy's Iowa service territory. For more information, visit www.alliantenergy.com/newconstruction or call 1-866-ALLIANT.

CONTACT: Nancy Craig, Alliant Energy
Tel: +1 319 786 4788

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