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Deming public schools get smart about energy efficiency
Columbus Electric Cooperative and Tri-State give school district nearly $80,000 in energy efficiency incentives
Several community leaders including N.M. Sen. John Arthur Smith and Rep. Dona Irwin toured Ruben S. Torres Elementary School today, getting a firsthand look at the school’s geothermal heating and cooling system. The system will allow the new school to use energy more efficiently and save money. Columbus Electric Cooperative and its power supplier Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association gave a tour of the system and presented a check for more than |
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$78,000 in incentives as a reward for Deming Public Schools’ commitment to energy efficiency at both Ruben S. Torres Elementary and Columbus Elementary.
The school’s mechanical room was the highlight of this show-and-tell. Tour participants saw the school’s geothermal heating and cooling system that was installed in the school, which opened in August 2008. The system includes 312 bores arranged in “loops” buried in a field next to the school. These loops circulate water and the constant 55 degrees Fahrenheit temperature of the earth heats or cools the water loops as needed to balance the building’s year-round heating and cooling requirements.
The school district also installed a similar system in the Columbus Elementary School, which opened this week.
Combined with the other efficiencies from the building’s new construction, the geothermal system is expected to save the district approximately 50 percent on the energy bill for each school. As with the installation of other geothermal systems, there is also a savings in space required for the geothermal system as compared to a traditional HVAC system.
“The cooperation among Tri-State, Columbus Electric and Deming Public Schools demonstrates how electric cooperatives are leaders in encouraging energy efficiency in local communities,” said Hal Keeler, Columbus Electric board president and Tri-State board representative during the presentation to the school district President David McSherry.
“Our schools are getting smart about energy use,” said N.M. Senator John Arthur Smith who participated in the school tour. “This highly efficient heating and cooling system will surely save the school district money and resources.”
 “It’s exciting to see New Mexico’s electric cooperatives are giving back to our communities by incentivizing energy efficiency,” said N.M. Rep. Dona Irwin who participated in the check presentation.
“This system allows us to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and to set a clear example for our youth that energy conservation is no longer just a nice thought but a necessity as we move forward,” said Deming Public Schools Superintendent Harvilee Moore. “It is likely that the very students in this school will solve the current and future energy challenges.”
“Tri-State and Columbus Electric have innovative programs to help our member-consumers, including rural schools, use energy more efficiently,” said Mike Fletcher, Columbus Electric’s general manager. “We are proud to provide our largest incentive ever to compliment the significant savings the school district will receive from its energy efficiency efforts.”
Tri-State has operated its Energy Efficiency Program since 1985. In this program, Tri-State and Columbus Electric provide incentives as a means to encourage and reward energy-efficient purchases and practices. The program also is intended to advance promising electric technologies through deployment and pilot opportunities. Throughout its service territory, Tri-State distributed more than $1.8 million in 2008 to home owners and business operators for their installation of more efficient lighting, appliances, heating and cooling systems, and switch to high-efficiency motors in irrigation, commercial and industrial applications.
Updated: June 4, 2009
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