Fairfield showing positive results in energy reduction

The numbers are in and Fairfield is making significant progress toward its goals in Alliant Energy?s Hometown Rewards Program: Fairfield businesses, factories, and homes are using 18.4 percent less energy on average than they were two years ago.

Interstate Power and Light Company, an Alliant Energy company, selected Fairfield to participate in its Hometown Rewards grant program, which measures a community?s progress toward its energy goals during a two-year period. Fairfield aims to cut city energy costs by $540,000 and to engage at least half of the community in the project. If Fairfield achieves its goals, Alliant will help fund a solar photovoltaic installation on a city building.

Alliant partnered with Minnesota engineering firm Sebesta-Blomberg to track Fairfield?s energy use for the life of the program. Sebesta found the average energy use per person to be 29.9 million british thermal units (Mmbtu) in 2010. But Sebesta?s new report measuring energy use from April through June of 2012, found Fairfield residents to be using an average of less than 25 Mmbtu ? an 18.4 percent decrease from the baseline year. Fairfield residences decreased their energy use by 4.9 percent, exceeding the 2013 target goal of 4 percent.

Senior product manager at Alliant, Robin Sempf, characterizes the results as, ?better than expected.?

?The progress Fairfield has made over the past several months is absolutely wonderful,? said Sempf. ?We hope this continues through the life of the program.?

Sempf believes Fairfield is seeing positive results because people throughout the town wanted part in the program.

?From the very beginning there were a lot of people in the community involved from all sectors ? businesses, schools, as well as the city,? said Sempf.

But she credits Fairfield?s sustainability coordinator Scott Timm and local Hometown Rewards project coordinator Anna Bruen, with ensuring community follow-through.

?They?re out there every day; they set up tables at Hy-Vee or at the fair and talk to people about energy efficiency,? said Sempf. ?If you don?t have those champions, it?s really hard to be a success at the community level.?

Sempf said it is the job of these ?champions? to keep energy on people?s minds. Alliant offers free home energy assessments, and when Bruen scheduled one for her own home, she had a local radio station present to let listeners in on the process.

Community members can pledge online to take simple energy-saving measures, such as turning off lights and unplugging electronics when they?re not using them. And for more involved projects, Timm has organized workshops to help residents interested in investing in making energy-efficient upgrades to their home or business.

Coming up, Timm has workshops lined up for heating, cooling and ventilation in August, weatherization in September, geothermal in November and lighting in December.

Sempf said without these activities, ?Energy can become something that falls down on people?s priority list.?

So far 15 percent of the community, or 1,465 people, have participated in the program either by pledging online, attending a workshop or having a free Alliant home energy assessment. Sempf said Fairfield has come up short in just one area ? in the business sector, where only 10 participating businesses to date.

?The place that we want to focus on next, which to be honest we haven?t had a specific focus on yet, is the business sector,? said Sempf. ?Based on our goals, we?re not quite there yet.?

Sempf pointed out involving the business sector can make a big impact on energy use because, ?one project can end up equaling lots and lots of residential projects.?

For instance, Fairfield completed energy upgrades to all of its city buildings in the last year, which Sempf said has likely contributed to Fairfield?s success.

From 2004 to 2007, Alliant tested pilot Hometown Rewards programs in Dubuque, Grinnell, and Mount Vernon. Although the current program is significantly different from the pilot, Sempf said it does provide a reference point.

?Fairfield is doing a great job, and I think they will probably exceed what other communities have done,? said Sempf.