City completes inventory of all energy usage in municipal operations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 25, 2012

For more information, please contact:
Jacqui Bauer, Sustainability Coordinator, City of Bloomington, 349.3837, bauerj@bloomington.in.gov

City completes inventory of all energy usage in municipal operations

Bloomington, IN -- The City of Bloomington has completed an inventory of energy use across City operations and published the results in the 2010 Local Government Operations Energy Use & Emissions Inventory. This document is available on the City's website at [www.bloomington.in.gov/energyresources].

"One of the keys to effectively managing resources-and budgets-is understanding how those resources are used," said Sustainability Coordinator Jacqui Bauer. "This inventory will help us prioritize where we'll get the most bang for our buck in terms of upgrades and process improvements. It will also give us a baseline to measure cost savings and progress."

The inventory tracks all energy used by City-owned facilities, fleet vehicles and Bloomington Transit. Electricity is the primary source of energy, followed by fuel (diesel and gasoline) and then natural gas.

The report, which utilizes 2010 data, also tracks which facilities use the highest amount of energy. The largest single energy users among City facilities are the water and wastewater treatment plants. Other major users are: City Hall, the Frank Southern Ice Arena, the Twin Lakes Recreation Center, the Animal Shelter and the Utilities Service Center.

In recent years, the City has emphasized energy reduction and general conservation through capital investments and process changes. These include investments in more efficient lighting and motion sensors, low-flow toilets, hybrid vehicles and an Energy Dashboard as well as the establishment of an internal green team and the adoption of a no-idling policy. As a result, the City was able to drop electricity consumption at City Hall by 44 percent and by more than 20 percent at the Twin Lakes Recreation Center, and has generally reduced the City's environmental footprint. This inventory promises to help City government make further strides in sustainability.

For more information about this story, contact Jacqui Bauer at 349.3837 or bauerj@bloomington.in.gov.

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