School energy audit: Spend $40M now, save $3.6M per year

One of Gov. John Kitzhaber's top priorities after taking office a year ago was his "Cool Schools" initiative to create jobs while making schools more energy efficient.

Energy audit companies have taken a close look at 100 mostly small and rural school districts around Oregon to determine upgrades that are needed, how much energy can be saved, and what it might cost.

Those audits, which were obtained by The Associated Press, show a potential savings of $3.6 million a year if the full complement of $40 million worth of improvements is done. With grants and other incentives, the cost to schools would total $36 million, and the state is offering low-interest loans to pay for it.

The audits do not include estimates of how many jobs might be created. But governor's aide Scott Nelson says labor studies indicate that $40 million worth of energy retrofits would typically account for 400 to 600 direct yearlong jobs.

Success will depend on the confidence schools have in the potential savings, their willingness to take on new debt during tough economic times, and whether they were already planning improvements.

The engineer for Eugene School District, the biggest of the districts audited, is skeptical.

Gary Heldt said they are already embarked on improvements financed by voter approval of a $70 million facilities bond, and are unlikely to want to take on any more debt

He was also critical of the quality of the audit.

"Quite frankly, it didn't tell us anything more than we already knew," he said.

The Eugene audit suggested 508 projects costing $8 million on 38 buildings to produce first-year energy savings of $367,000. The bulk of the money would be spent on insulation in walls and ceilings, multiple-pane windows, and tighter weather stripping.

Heldt said he found cost estimates were low. The district recently solicited bids to replace a heating unit in a transportation shop, and found the real cost was twice the audit estimate.

"It's for free, but you have to take it with a grain of salt," he said of the audit.

But Klamath County schools enthusiastically embraced the Cool Schools program.

"It allowed us to complete projects that otherwise we might not have been able to do," because voters have been unwilling to approve bond issues, said Superintendent Greg Thede.

The district has taken $1.8 million in low-interest loans to fund five projects, he said. Three have already been done: installing energy-efficient lighting in three schools.

Most of the district was covered by an earlier round of audits before Kitzhaber was governor. Schools in the rural communities of Gilchrist and Bonanza were in this latest round and sorely need the improvements, he said.

The Oregon School Boards Association was also enthusiastic.

"A lot of districts have expressed a need for support of this kind," said spokesman Lonn Hoklin. "Any support that comes from the state through this program is most welcome."

Kitzhaber has trumpeted the initiative. In a letter encouraging districts to do the improvements, he wrote: "Not only will your district realize savings and put local contractors to work, but your students will have a healthier, more comfortable environment in which to learn."

Paid by the state with $1 million in federal stimulus money, 11 auditing firms looked at 390 schools and other buildings in 100 districts across the state that get power from independent utilities and Idaho Power. The 100 school districts served by Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp were covered by an earlier program.

The state is putting together financing and has guaranteed a rate of 3.5 percent or less, said Nelson.

Nelson said not all schools can do projects now, but based on past participation, they anticipate a total of $36 million in loans will be handed out to schools in both the first and second phase of audits.

Ontario School District near the Idaho border is another that is unlikely to take on the program in full. It passed an $18.5 million bond and is building a new middle school. Director of operations Eric Norton said the high school was already installing new lighting with a grant from Idaho Power and an Oregon business energy tax credit. Once that work is done, they will sort out what else needs to be done and consider whether to take help from Cool Schools, he said.

Frenchglen School District in rural Eastern Oregon, with just 11 students and two teachers in one elementary school, is not sure what it will do. Head teacher Carolyn Koskela said a major remodel in 1996 left the school building in pretty good shape, though ceiling heaters in the gym are not very efficient. Replacing outdated fluorescent lights would be popular with students, because the noise is so annoying they turn them off when it is light outside. The district was already talking with the local utility about changing them, but it would be up to the school board to decide how to pay for it.

Eight school districts from the earlier program are approved for financing for $9.5 million in energy retrofits, said Nelson. They are Banks, Klamath Falls, Klamath County, Milton-Freewater, Monroe, Pine Eagle, Corbett and Jefferson.