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Kingsport BOE considers energy efficient upgrades

KINGSPORT — The Kingsport Board of Education is moving forward with plans to use Energy Systems Group (ESG) to improve energy and operational efficiencies in the school system.

Russ Nelson, Johnson City-based business development manager for ESG, presented the BOE a preliminary engineering study during a recent board work session.

Nelson cited past work ESG has done in the region, including a plan for Sullivan County he said guaranteed almost $900,000 a year and actually saved $1 million to $1.8 million a year since 2002-03, not counting 2008-09.

ESG designs, purchases and installs energy-saving and facilities improvements funded by savings from reduced utility costs. Its clients include the cities of Kingsport and Bristol, Tenn., Johnson City Schools, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

For Kingsport City Schools, Nelson said preliminary engineering findings were that ESG could help the school system reduce energy operating costs to help offset rising utility rates; address aging HVAC units; enhance the ability to monitor energy use and equipment; evaluate new energy technology and renewable energy options for use in the system; and do all that through a “budget neutral” process.

Nelson said at Dobyns-Bennett High School — the system’s largest building — costs for electricity have gone from 5 cents per kilowatt-hour to 7 cents in the past 12 months and were about 4.5 cents in 2007.

Because D-B is an all-electric school, it gets a lower rate than schools that also use natural gas. Nelson said Facilities Director David Carper and his staff do an excellent job of keeping utility costs under control, but Nelson suggested additional things such as converting some gas-heated schools to all electric to take advantage of the lower kilowatt-hour rate, although electric rates are going up Jan. 1 and are projected to continue rising.

Natural gas is down this winter but may go up in future years.

The plan would be to finance $3.5 million in improvements over 15 years at 4 percent, with a conservative savings of $355,000 a year or 15 percent.

Savings for Kingsport are projected to be 35 percent, while Nelson said Sullivan County’s school system saw about 40 percent savings in its buildings.

Utility costs are factored in to rise 6 percent a year, with a total savings of $5.9 million over the term of the financing. Savings are projected to go from about $210,000 the first year to $576,000 the last year.

Among buildings, Nelson said Robinson and Sevier middle schools were the best performing in the BTUs — or British Thermal Units — used per square feet, which worked out to 70 cents per square foot at Robinson and 76 cents per square foot at Sevier.

In contrast, Washington Elementary, an all-electric school, was $1.51 per square foot, and the D-B band building was $1.37 per square foot.

Nelson said lighting would be addressed in practically all buildings, including John Adams Elementary, which opened this year. At that school, he said controlling lights to dim when sunlight can illuminate classrooms would be an option.

As for using geothermal heating and cooling, used at Adams, Nelson said that was an option, but commercial heat pumps are very efficient in this region. He suggested looking at adding solar thermal water heaters at some schools but said they would not pay for themselves in a reasonable amount of time without special grants.

Nelson was asked to bring the school board a more detailed plan and options to consider.

He said the Board of Mayor and Aldermen seems very supportive of the idea, and city officials had asked about having ESG make a proposal for the school system.

Mayor Dennis Phillips later said he wholeheartedly supports energy improvements in effect paying for themselves in the school system.

Nelson said the city is using low-interest Build America Bonds, funded by the federal economic stimulus, to pay for its ESG program. However, the BMA has gone on record saying it will not issue any bonds until at least 2011, which would delay implementation of any ESG projects — or at least the funding portion.

“We will not be selling, short of an emergency, any bonds next year,” Phillips said.

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The comment was meant for the selling of Midland Center.

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