Western Kentucky University Celebrates Energy Savings

June 27, 2011

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. The Tennessee Valley Authority and Bowling Green Municipal Utilities presented a check for $106,390 to Western Kentucky University on Monday, June 27, to reward the university’s investments in energy efficiency.

Western Kentucky has trimmed electricity usage more than 500 kilowatts since joining TVA’s EnergyRight Solutions for Business program in March 2010. The program, offered through the local power company, pays up to $200 for every kilowatt saved.

“A better understanding of energy use through EnergyRight helps reduce operating costs and keeps the cost of other goods and services more affordable,” TVA Valley Relations Manager Nancy Mitchell said.

Western Kentucky retrofitted or replaced more than 70,000 lights in 35 campus buildings, which will result in a savings of more than 4.7 million kilowatt-hours per year.  The school also replaced three HVAC chiller units, which provide cool water for air conditioning. The new high-efficiency units replaced equipment more than 30 years old.

WKU President Gary Ransdell said the incentive check was a welcome recognition for the school’s efforts to become more energy efficient.

“While saving on our energy costs is important, it’s only a part of our overall commitment to being good stewards of our resources,” Ransdell said. “We want to be a leading example of how an organization can reduce costs and improve our impact on the environment.”

The initiatives were part of a larger campaign at WKU that included water conservation, improved insulation, harvesting rain water for irrigation and a solar collector to preheat the swimming pool at the Raymond B. Preston Health and Activities Center.

In all, the school invested more than $9.6 million in energy saving measures, with a guaranteed energy savings of more than $1 million each year.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for utility and business customers in most of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia – an area of 80,000 square miles with a population of 9 million. TVA operates 29 hydroelectric dams, 11 coal-fired power plants, three nuclear plants and 11 natural gas-fired power facilities that can produce about 34,000 megawatts of electricity, delivered over 16,000 miles of high-voltage power lines. TVA also provides flood control, navigation, land management and recreation for the Tennessee River system and works with local utilities and state and local governments to promote economic development across the region. TVA, which makes no profits and receives no taxpayer money, is funded by sales of electricity to its customers. Electricity prices in TVA’s service territory are below the national average.

Media Contact:

Scott Brooks, Knoxville, (865) 632-8031
TVA Media Relations, Knoxville, (865) 632-6000
TVA Newsroom