Town honored for energy efficiency
By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
FORT FAIRFIELD — The town of Fort Fairfield received an award during a small ceremonious event on March 4 for its commitment to energy-efficient practices — specifically, the summer of 2010 retrofitting of 174 streetlights ranging from lower Main Street to Presque Isle Street, across the bridge and dispersed throughout town, to accommodate high efficiency LED lights
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
“It’s nice to have our efforts recognized and I think it makes the citizens of our town feel a little better about their community,” said Fort Fairfield Town Manager Dan Foster.
The project is estimated to save the town around $19,000 a year for the next 12 years — an annual savings of approximately 80 percent. Prior to the switch to energy efficient lighting, the town was paying $23,600 to light the streets.
Not only have the benefits of the LED switch been felt by the town’s checkbook (and the environment), the new lights lining main streets have brought an improvement in aesthetic quality to Fort Fairfield’s downtown.
“Not only is the cost of using the lights 80 percent less than what it used to be, [the lights] have a much better spectrum and provides a better result for the community,” said Peter Roerig, director of Efficiency Maine’s community and government relations, who presented Foster with a plaque honoring the town’s commitment to energy efficiency. “The lights also have a much longer life, on average 13 years, which means that the town will have a savings of $19,000 a year for many years to come.”
Fort Fairfield is the first town in the state to received this kind of recognition and officials with Efficiency Maine are hoping more community will emulate the efforts of this small northern Maine community.
“We hope that by showing off what Fort Fairfield has done, it will be a catalyst for other communities that want to do the same thing and we’ll be happy to come back up here to issue awards to other towns,” said Efficiency Maine Business Program Specialist Rick Meinking.
In a time when municipal budgets are bearing the financial burden of belt-tightening at the state and federal levels, increasing efficiency means a better bottom-line for taxpayers.
“Energy is not an insignificant cost when it comes to our individual lives or our corporate lives,” Foster said. “The investment we’ve made now has really made a difference in not only the cost of the service but the quality of the cost.”
In a brief speech, Foster highlighted additional energy-saving projects undertaken by the town, from reducing energy consumption at the Community Center by about 30 percent to measures taken by MSAD 20 officials to cut energy costs at the school. Foster even credited Physical Plant Supervisor of MSAD 20 James Everett for introducing the town to Efficiency Maine. Everett’s first project with Efficiency Maine was changing the lighting in the elementary school from T12 bulbs to T8 bulbs, installing LED exit lights, vending-misers for the soda/milk machines and motion sensors.
In Aroostook County in particular, where high energy costs are often a hindrance for businesses and communities, Efficiency Maine seems to have found its niche.
“Maine on average has a significant energy burden, and even more so in Aroostook County,” said Meinking. “We recognize that there’s significant energy savings opportunities here in Aroostook County because of the undue energy burdens of the region and we’ve seen a significant number of small businesses, including farms, taking advantage of Efficiency Maine’s small business programs. We’re up here to both recognize Fort Fairfield’s investments in efficiency, and we’re also here to help encourage other small businesses to take advantage of our businesses incentive programs.”
A high amount of Aroostook County businesses are eligible to participate in Efficiency Maine’s programs. Additional information regarding program eligibility can be obtained by calling 1866 376-2463 or by visiting http://www.efficiencymaine.com.
