Alliant Energy: Mauston School District receives $35,496 energy-efficient lighting incentive

Thu. November 05, 2009; Posted: 10:02 AM

MADISON, WI -- Focus on Energy, Wisconsin's statewide resource for energy efficiency and renewable energy, and Alliant Energy are pleased to announce that the School District of Mauston has received a financial incentive in the amount of $35,496 from Focus on Energy for a recently-completed energy efficiency project.

The dollars will go toward a lighting retrofit project that replaced lights in five of the district's buildings with more cost-effective and energy efficiency lamps. The previously-installed T12 lamps will no longer be available after June 30, 2010 and they are much less efficient than the newly-installed lights. To officially recognize the project's completion, a check presentation attended by School District, Focus on Energy and Alliant Energy representatives was held at the District's offices on November 3 to present the Focus on Energy monies.

'The School District of Mauston took full advantage of Focus on Energy to reduce their energy use, receive a financial incentive, and save future operations costs,' said Steve Craker, Energy Advisor with Focus on Energy. 'This is a win-win project in terms of the environment and the property taxpayers within the school district.'

Focus on Energy offers no-cost services and financial incentives to help businesses, schools, government agencies and residents select and implement cost-effective projects and practices that save energy, reduce operating costs and help protect the environment. Since the District completed the project by September 30th, it was able to take advantage of the bonus incentives on high-efficiency lighting and occupancy sensors offered by Focus on Energy.

'I've worked with the School District of Mauston on energy efficiency issues over the years and they have shown a strong interest in saving energy, reducing operating costs and being good environmental stewards,' said Mary Eiler-Radl, Alliant Energy Strategic Account Manager. 'They continue to be very proactive in looking at ways to save money and reduce costs through energy efficiency.'

The total cost of the lighting retrofit project in the five School District buildings was $126,380. With the Focus on Energy incentive of $35,496, this brought the cost of the project down to $90,884. The School District dollars came from its Capital Expansion Fund, also known as 'Fund 41', which is used for ongoing maintenance projects. The District budgets dollars for Fund 41 each year.

'In addition to the dollar and energy savings, another part of the project we are especially proud of is that the District received a Focus on Energy Project Manager Grant to manage the energy saving projects here at the district instead of using an outside consultant,' explained Julie Lankey-Smallwood, the District's Business Manager. 'This not only brought additional grant dollars to the district but also allows us to use local contractors for our projects.'

CONTACT: Scott Reigstad, Alliant Energy Tel: +1 608 458 3145 Amanda Wollin, Focus on Energy Tel: +1 608 249 9322, ext. 336

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