|
Energizing Auburn, NY While Saving Our Planet
Hometown Energy
Auburn Municipal Public Power Agency
Geothermal Water-to-Water Heat Pump Systems in Memorial City Hall
Methane Gas Recovery Project
Energy Master Plan
Police and Fire Department Building HVAC Project
Community Bio-Digester
Business Development Opportunities
Natural Gas Purchase Agreement
Cornell University Center for Technology Enterprise & Commercialization (CCTEC)
Inter-Municipal Strategic Community Growth and Sustainable Energy Management Plan
Downtown Street Lighting
State Dam
Hydroelectric Sites
Geothermal Well
Gas Exploration
Engine Company #3
Net metering/Wheeling Charges
Casey Park/Falcon Park Development Project
Future New Energy Transfer Stations
Hometown Energy
The City of Auburn has a carefully crafted plan for reaching community energy independence. It consists of a series of steps, each moving the City and its citizens closer to owning and managing the energy resources needed to serve the community.
The steps of the plan, referred to as “projects,” are highly diversified and create the foundation for new job creation, stabilizing utility costs and more. The steps form a clear path toward total energy independence, and are just part of the tool kit being assembled to stimulate economic development and to help the community grow and prosper.
Return to top
Auburn Municipal Public Power Agency
The Auburn City Council through Local Law #1 of ‘04 created the “Auburn Public Power Agency.” Proposed by Mayor Timothy Lattimore, 83% of the voters in a referendum supported approval of this new agency. The Power Agency allows the City to buy and sell energy and to develop alternate energy systems. This will make it possible for the City to secure cheaper energy to attract and retain businesses and to reduce the City’s energy cost. The Agency has already enabled the City to substantially lower energy costs through wholesale power and natural gas purchase agreements with major suppliers, and is actively working on new projects which will bring additional benefits.
Return to top
Geothermal Water-to-Water Heat Pump Systems in Memorial City Hall
Geothermal Water-to-Water Heat Pump Systems in Memorial City Hall
Designed by the Boston Architectural firm of Coolidge, Shepley, Bullfinch and Abbott, City Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places, thus its geothermal installation required design sensitivity for the Council chambers and public spaces, to insure the historic integrity of the building was maintained.
McQuay International provided the geothermal systems. The purchase of the McQuay system helped strengthen the Auburn economy and supported local workers and Auburn manufacturing jobs.
The New York Conference of Mayors (NYCOM) awarded the City a Local Government Achievement Award in 2004 for this installation, which recognized the Auburn City Hall as the first to use a geothermal system.
Return to top
Methane Gas Recovery Project
The methane gas produced by the waste in the landfill is collected before it escapes into the environment. Once collected, the gas is piped to the Wastewater Treatment Plant and burned in the sludge incinerator. This methane recovery system ($1.8 million) reduces the City’s purchase of natural gas.
In the first year of operation, the City saved approximately $800,000 in natural gas costs. A $904,000 grant from the New York State Environmental Quality Bond Act (EQBA) reduced the City investment, resulting in a one-year payback for this system. In ‘02, the City received a NYCOM Local Government Achievement Award for this innovative project.
Return to top
Energy Master Plan
The City is working with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to complete a comprehensive energy audit of all of the City’s primary facilities and buildings. This will allow the City to apply for additional NYSERDA and other grant funding to assist with implementation of additional cost saving measures. NYPA will finance the projects and the City will pay for the improvements with energy savings. After repayment of the 5-15 year loans, the City will receive 100% of the project savings.
Return to top
Police and Fire Department Building HVAC Project
With the assistance of the NYPA, the City has designed a new Geothermal HVAC system for the Public Safety Building. The project was completed in November of 2007. A NYSERDA grant has been awarded for this project, which will use the McQuay Water Source Heat Pump.
In addition, NYPA has funded an energy conservation program that will save energy in about 12 City facilities including the Wastewater Treatment Plant, Water Filtration Plant, the Public Works Garage, Casey Park/Falcon Park recreation facilities, and more. The energy savings will pay for the improvements, including the Police & Fire Geothermal system, making this $5.35 million dollar project economically viable. The energy savings are estimated at $240,000 per year.
Return to top
Community Bio-Digester
This project is currently in the preliminary engineering phase. The project will not only benefit the environment, but also will provide methane gas to power electric generators that will supply electricity to nearby Auburn Industries at “Technology Park.” The low cost electricity will help Auburn industries compete in today’s market, while creating new jobs for local residents. In addition, the City will process other communities sludge (disposal fee) to expand the capacity of the plant.
The project’s feasibility study was completed through a jointly funded NYSERDA grant with Cayuga County. ECO Technology Solutions, (ECOTS) was the consulting firm for the feasibility study. As a result of this study, Cayuga County recently received a $1,000,000 NYSERDA grant to assist with the construction of its first bioenergy (digester) facility.
Congressman Sherwood Boehlert secured a $891,000 grant and U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer awarded another $241,000 for a total of $2,132,000. The project cost is estimated to be $11.6 million and will bring nearly $800,000 in benefits from lower operating expenses, and $1.7 million in additional revenues, resulting in a net benefit of $2.5 million for the City of Auburn.
Senators Schumer and Clinton have also included another $500,000 in assistance in a Senate appropriations bill proposed for the ‘08 federal budget.
Return to top
Business Development Opportunities
ECOTS has assisted the City of Auburn in developing a potential partnership with a company to build, own and operate the power generation facility utilizing the City’s landfill methane gas and sludge digester gas to produce 3 megawatts of electric power and a similar amount of hot water. The proposed project would include a power purchase agreement with a long-term purchase price structure for the City.
The electricity will operate the entire Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the excess power will be sold by the Auburn Municipal Power Agency to the businesses located at Technology Park. This project started engineering/development in ‘07, with commissioning of the plant anticipated in late 2008.
Return to top
Natural Gas Purchase Agreement
In ‘07, the City evaluated the existing natural gas purchase contract with its vendor–O.C.M. BOCES. After Hurricane Katrina, natural gas expenses have dramatically increased and rates are extremely high. The City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant sludge incinerator is a very high natural gas user, and as a result of the price increases, the operation became unprofitable. A bid process was under taken to find a lower-cost provider of natural gas. A new vendor, NYSEG Solutions was selected. Based on historical billing, the new agreement will save $300,000 per year.
Return to top
Cornell University Center for Technology Enterprise & Commercialization (CCTEC)
In ‘06, the City began working with Cayuga Wind Turbines (CWT) to assess market opportunities for a new wind technology. With the increased commercialization of large-scale wind renewable energy projects, the intermediate size wind generation units are not being manufactured. Through the assistance of Cornell University’s Johnson School, an evaluation and market strategy was completed. Subsequently, the City of Auburn received a $76,600 grant from the U.S.D.A. Rural Business Enterprise Program to continue this effort. The ultimate goal is the location of a manufacturing plant in Auburn to produce the intermediate scale wind turbines, blades and towers.
Return to top
Inter-Municipal Strategic Community Growth and Sustainable Energy Management Plan
The City of Auburn and Cayuga County submitted a joint application to the New York State-Department of State (DOS) Quality Communities Grant Program for funding to continue efforts in energy conservation and development. A $34,515 matching grant was awarded in ‘06 to complete this project, which also involves the City of Auburn Municipal Power Agency and the Cayuga County Power Agency.
Return to top
Downtown Street Lighting
In ‘93 the City of Auburn began working with NYSEG to improve the deteriorated lighting system. NYSEG owned the wire within the City’s conduit; the City owned the street lighting poles and NYSEG provided the street light fixtures, energy and maintenance. The City purchased the residual value of the wire and lights, bid the installation of new decorative streetlights, provided the maintenance and are buying the electric power from NYSEG. The $700,000 investment captures cost savings of over
$100,000 per year.
As the City continues to reconstruct the major streets, additional historic streetlights are being added. South Street, Genesee Street and East Genesee Street are examples where the new lighting has made the community more attractive. Currently, the City is investigating purchasing the balance of the NYSEG street lighting system.
Return to top
State Dam
State Dam is located within 1,000 feet of both the City of Auburn’s Water Filtration Plant and the Lower Pumping Station. The City has received a $300,000 matching grant from NYS DEC for dam stabilization. Under efforts of Congressman Boehlert, this project was included for evaluation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for dam gate replacement.
In a future phase project, the City is considering the installation of low-head hydropower at this site to help defray the costs of electricity for both stations, which currently is approximately $246,000 annually. The installation of this hydropower station will also reduce dependence on the NYSEG grid and increase the City’s energy independence.
Return to top
Hydroelectric Sites
NYPA is currently evaluating the existing City hydroelectric sites, as well as some additional potential sites in the City for new generation. NYSERDA has also begun an evaluation to determine if predevelopment “low flow – low head” hydro generation is feasible for the sites. The City has received engineering services study proposals of the entire Owasco River and anticipates NYSERDA assistance in the feasibility study and final project.
The City still needs to review the Federal Energy Regulatory (FERC) requirements, which may be minimal if the power is used on-site rather than transmitted to the grid. It is
estimated that the Mill Street Dam will cost $1.7 million and the new State Dam to power the City’s water filtration plant will cost $1.5 million. NYPA has recently completed an initial hydro evaluation and it appears that the payback period is approximately 13 years without government grants. The Dunn & McCarthy hydro site is estimated at $1.9 million with a 13.3 year without grants.
Return to top
Geothermal Well
In ‘84, the former Mayor Lattimore approached NYSERDA and the US Dept. of Energy to fund a deep geothermal water injection well. This first deep geothermal well east of the Mississippi River was installed to a depth of over 5,200 feet. In ‘91, this well was covered to use the natural gas that was in the well to heat the East Middle School. The current owners (Auburn Enlarged Central School District) have recently begun to increase the efficiency of this well and expand its uses.
Return to top
Gas Exploration
The City of Auburn applied unsuccessfully in ‘05 for a $100,000 NYSERDA grant to drill a new natural gas well at the 215-acre landfill site for additional capacity. Dr. Joseph Robinson professor emeritus of Syracuse University’s Geology Dept. worked on the initial gas well and was part of the grant team for this estimated $500,000 project.
Although the initial grant was unsuccessful, the City and NYPA are discussing joint development of the project. The future gas well is near the location of two major transmissions gas lines that cross New York State. The City already has plans to submit an application for a large grant in the near future. NYPA may assist in the development of a gas powered generation plant once the well has been constructed to generate electricity with the gas. The electricity will be used at City facilities and for local businesses at Technology Park.
Return to top
Engine Company #3
Located on the City’s west side, it is approximately 500 feet from the City’s North Division Street facility. A City owned hydro plant is currently operating within 2,000 feet of the former Bombardier Company.
The City is looking at utilizing the power generated at the hydroplant to offset the cost of electricity to run both the Engine Company and to assist the redevelopment of the Bombardier site. The City’s desire is to have this facility power the emergency command center so its not dependant upon the NYSEG power grid. The estimated cost for this project is $750,000.
Return to top
Net metering/Wheeling Charges
The State of New York is discussing revised legislation that would allow net metering for solar installations on libraries and schools. The City of Auburn plans to propose additional legislation to expand the qualified facilities to include hydroelectric power, electricity and gas transmission for municipalities. This would allow the City to use the hydroelectric power that it produces in its own facilities. If this is not accomplished, the City will negotiate with NYSEG on the existing hydroelectric dam agreements for what is called “wheeling charges.”
The existing Mill St. hydro facility is currently operating at the NYSEG avoided costs of under $.02 cents per kwh.
The City would like the Public Service Commission to encourage municipal governments to produce power and transmit and consume the power at their own facilities. The N. Division St. hydroelectric dam is still providing significant revenue to the City (.0846c / kw), however, the City can produce additional power above the existing 600 KW limit for use. This additional power could be used at the Engine Company #3 or at Bombardier Manufacturing across the street.
Return to top
Casey Park/Falcon Park Development Project
In ‘02, NYSERDA funded an engineering study to implement energy conservation at Casey and Falcon Parks. Several of the smaller improvements have been completed as a result of this conservation program. Coupled with a grant from NYS Senator Nozzolio, the Casey Park Ice Rink was enclosed and a desiccant system installed.
The next major improvement is the replacement of the ice making equipment. A study was done in ’06 to build a methane gas/natural gas chiller for the ice production. The City plans to install a new underground piping system that would connect the City’s methane gas plant across the street, to the chiller. With the installation of electric generator, Casey Park and the Falcon Park baseball stadium could be set up for power generation. A new request for NYSERDA assistance is planned. The capital cost for the chiller is estimated at $400,000, plus the cost of the piping for the gas connections.
Return to top
Future New Energy Transfer Stations
Technology Park is ideally located to install electric and gas substations. The City has reactivated the Public Power Task Force and hopes to expand the Public Power Agency’s ability to provide low cost electricity and gas to the businesses. The initial cost for the substations is estimated at $1.8 million dollars. It will require the construction of approximately one-half mile of underground facilities which allows the Power Agency to begin serving energy to customers at the Technology Park.
Return to top |
