5.2. ECCSR 11-16-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Elk River GHG Baseline Inventory 5 Opportunities for Reduction Approximately 20% of the Elk River streetlight infrastructure are LED light fixtures, with the remaining 80% being High Pressure Sodium. According to a 2012 Minnesota Department of Commerce study, switching from HPS to LED luminaires typically produces 40% to 60% savings in electricity consumption if the system is properly designed. In addition, wireless control and monitoring systems can allow the city to implement dimming strategies that may reduce street lighting energy consumption by another 10-20%. By continuing to convert from HPS to LED street lighting fixtures, energy consumption associated with street lighting should be reduced by 120,000 to 180,000 kwh annually. This reduction in energy consumption would mean a reduction of 80 to 130 Metric Tonnes of CO2e annually. How do City Streetlights and Signals contribute to Greenhouse Gas Emissions? As with Buildings and Grounds, the electricity used to supply our street lighting is a source of Greenhouse Gas. The emissions factor associated with electricity use varies based on the raw fuel sources used by the electrical utilities suppling the local electrical grid – utility providers who source more of their power through renewable energy sources, have commensurately lower GHG emission factors. According to a 2011 study by the Lighting Research Center, on average, municipal lighting uses 4 kwh per mile of street light coverage. Assuming an average of 4,300 hours of operation annually, that represents 17,520 kwh of energy use and a GHG emission of 12.37 Metric Tonnes (12,271 pounds) of CO2e annually per mile of street lighting. Summary of Findings* For the City Operations Baseline year of 2015, Elk River Municipal Utilities reports a total electrical use of 377,143 kwh for City owned streetlights and signals. The GHG emission associated with City of Elk River Streetlight energy use for the Baseline year of 2015 totaled 266.18 Metric Tonnes (586,826 pounds) CO2e. * Sources: City of Elk River and Elk River Municipal Utilities data, emission factors based on US EPA and Excel Energy, City Operations Streetlights and Signals Annual Greenhouse Gas equal to: 5,222,830 Cubic Feet of Man-Made Atmosphere 266.18 Metric Tonnes Cubic Feet of man-made Atmosphere annually For every family in Elk River (Figure to scale)880 Operations of City of Elk River streetlights and signals produces a volume of greenhouse gas equal to: 4.49% City Operations Total