Smart power: Eastman helps apply Energy Star expertise to city schools

KINGSPORT — Eastman Chemical Co. is lending a helping hand to Kingsport City Schools efforts to decrease energy use and costsEastman, based in Kingsport, has been an Energy Star partner since 2008 and was an Energy Star Partner of the Year for 2012, 2013 and 2014. Energy Star is a federal program of the Environmental Protection Agency.Sharon Nolen, manager of Eastman's worldwide energy program, and KCS Chief Information Officer Andy True said officials of Eastman recently met with KCS officials including Superintendent Lyle Ailshie and Bill Shedden, supervisor of maintenance and custodial services."I was asked to look at how we might be able to support the school system in reference to energy usage and cost," Nolen said Friday, adding that the school system plans to become an Energy Star partner like Eastman."Any expertise that they are able to provide is appreciated," True said Friday.The help comes as the school system has put on hold a proposed contract with Cenergistic, a consultant based out of Dallas that works through behavioral modification.Two different approachesThe proposed Cenergistic program, already in place in nearby school systems in Hawkins, Greene and Johnson counties, would guarantee KCS a net savings of more than $3.5 million over a decade, with a gross savings of more than $4.6 million.However, the system late last year got pushback from Mayor Dennis Phillips and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, which has not approved the contract. KCS and the city also have an existing relationship with ESG or Energy Systems Group, which helped the school system do a series of equipment upgrades funded through a small grant and the rest a low-interest loan."A lot of the things we were replacing were going to have to be replaced anyway because of age," True said. The KCS Energy Efficient Schools Initiative Program implementation was more than $5.1 million of efficiency upgrades. The system got a .75 percent 12-year loan of $5 million and a grant of $127,000, with the savings from implementation to repay the loan.The program is in its third year and is reducing operating costs to counteract rising utilities costs, replacing aging HVAC systems, monitoring energy usage and is budget neutral with guaranteed savings.The projection is to save $6 million over 15 yeas with utilities saving and another $3 million in avoided maintenance costs.To date, ESG's Russ Nelson earlier this month told the Board of Education that the savings of $881,195 exceed the guaranteed savings, at this point, of $697,008.ESG's approach could be likened to replacing an older vehicle with a new hybrid gas-electric Toyota Prius, while the Cenergistic approach is more akin to keeping whatever car you have tuned up, the tires properly inflated and to drive with gas mileage in mind.Nolen said Eastman's help will cover both areas, equipment/infrastructure and behavior.The Eastman help comes as the city system is doing a facilities study facilitated by Ohio-based consultant Tracy Richter, including a look at building conditions and need for upgrades, renovations and repairs.Nolen said the only other private-public energy partnership with which Eastman has been involved was with the Boys and Girls Club through an Eastman executive. She said the savings there are estimated by the group to be about $15,000 a year."We're not trying to interfere with what the school system decides about what they're going to do," Nolen said.Plans for 3-step programStep one in the process, Nolen said, is that the school system has agreed to enter all its buildings in Portfolio Manager, a free software program from Energy Star that will allow KCS to compare its schools with 50,000 others in the Portfolio Manager system.That will give each building a comparison of its 12-month energy usage with other buildings nationwide and a percentile score. She said a higher score will indicate there are limited opportunities to save more energy and thus money, while lower scores show opportunities for savings.Step two, Nolen said, is a survey at each building. Eastman has agreed to do a few of the surveys and help train a school system employee to do the rest, which Nolen said is the process used in Eastman office buildings. Step three, Nolen said, is giving tips for awareness and involvement among employees.Nolen said Eastman has three Energy Star-certified buildings, the one in which she works on Jared Drive and two other identical ones. The office building on Jared Drive has had a 56 percent reduction in kilowatt hours since December of 2010, Nolen said. The other two buildings were challenged to improve in a competition of sorts, and both ended up as Energy Star certified.A fourth building, the new office building on the former athletic fields that is part of the more than $1 billion Project Inspire expansion at Eastman, is designed to be Energy Star compliant but cannot become certified until 12 months of energy usage data is compiled.Energy Star also will provide energy savings information for employees of Energy Star partners. That information includes how employees can save energy at work and at home, as well as coloring and activities books for children.Eastman generates about 90 percent of the electricity used at its Kingsport plastics and chemicals operation and uses limited solar power across the company for remote locations, Nolen said.