With just one month left in the Climate and Energy Project’s Take Charge Challenge, six Kansas towns are neck-and-neck in the race for top energy-saving city. They range in size from Salina (pop. 40,000) to Quinter (pop. 800). The standings:
1. Merriam (partnering with KCP&L)
2. Quinter (partnering with Midwest Energy Cooperative)
3. Kinsley (partnering with Midwest Energy Cooperative)
4. Salina (partnering with Westar Energy)
5. Wellington (partnering with the Kansas Power Pool)
6. Mount Hope/Haven (partnering with the Kansas Power Pool)
“These towns are pulling out all the stops to win. We congratulate Merriam on their leadership, and look forward to working with all towns as they make their push for the finish line,” said Nancy Jackson, CEP Executive Director.
CEP's Take Charge Challenge is a yearlong contest to see which town can save the most energy. The winner gets to choose an energy-saving prize: a solar panel for a city building, a wind turbine for a school, or $10,000 to use toward an energy efficient project for the city.
Residents and business in all six communities have switched light bulbs, weatherized, installed programmable thermostats, and traded in their old appliances for more energy efficient ones. These measures will save over 1.75 million kWh of electricity - enough to power a town of 1800 people for a month.
Salina-based Philips Lighting designed a website - takechargekansas.org - to track lighting switch efforts. So far, participants have changed over 32,500 incandescent bulbs to energy efficient CFLs, saving $280,000 in avoided energy costs from lighting switches alone!
Each town has a unique approach to slashing energy bills and winning the Challenge:
In Kinsley and Quinter, sixty residents and small businesses have taken advantage of Midwest Energy’s nationally-recognized How$mart energy audit and efficiency retrofit program. On average, this program results in yearly savings of 2100 kWh per customer, which would save a typical family between $150-$200/yr. Quinter is also in the lead on takechargekansas.org, with over 1,900 bulb switches - enough to light 95 of their neighbors’ homes for a full year!
Mount Hope and Haven are participating in the Kansas Power Pool’s new appliance rebate program. KPP rewards customers for replacing their old air conditioners and refrigerators with new energy-efficient ones. In Mount Hope/Haven, 23 rebates have been redeemed. By replacing old appliances, these residents will save over $7,000. The elementary schools also hosted “Energy Bandits” skits where students learned about appliances that “steal” energy even when they’re off, and received powerstrips to battle these bandits.
Wellington has also worked with KPP to encourage residents to switch to energy efficient CFL bulbs, distributing 8,000 light bulbs. Wellington City utility staff provided 53 free home energy audits to residents who want to learn how to save energy in their homes, and helped ten of the city’s businesses and churches identify energy-saving opportunities. Also, 73 rebates for new energy-efficient appliances have been redeemed through Kansas Power Pool. These efforts will save Wellington citizens over $60,000 in avoided energy costs.
In Merriam, 106 residents have signed up for KCP&L’s Energy Optimizer program that provides free programmable thermostats to participants, and 129 residents have replaced their old air conditioners through KCP&L’s Cool Homes rebate program. City Council members also hosted an “Energy Vampires” skit and contest at local elementary schools during Halloween- teaching kids how to avoid wasting energy by plugging small electronics into powerstrips. By switching bulbs and participating in KCP&L’s programs, Merriam residents have already saved 662,000 kWh - saving their community $60,000.
Salina is partnering with Westar Energy. Westar’s energy educators advised USD 305 and other big energy users on how to slash their bills. They’ve also partnered with Salina Downtown restaurants to host a “Lights Out Lunch” to promote energy conservation, and the Boy Scouts delivered hundreds of weatherization kits over the holidays. Westar’s new programmable thermostat program, WattSaver, rolled out at the Salina Home Show on Feb. 19th. Each programmable thermostat can save an average family $150-$200/yr, and Salinans are quickly signing up for this program to help their town win.
For more information, contact:
Merriam and Salina: Eileen Horn, Horn@climateandenergy.org, (913) 708-3929
Merriam: Carol Sivils, KCP&L, carol.sivils@kcpl.com, (816) 556-2263
Salina: Gina Penzig, Westar Energy, gina.penzig@westarenergy.com, (785) 640-9970
Mount Hope/Haven, Wellington, Quinter, Kinsley: Dorothy Barnett,
Barnett@climateandenergy.org, (785)- 424-0444
Mount Hope/Haven, Wellington: Colin Whitley, Kansas Power Pool,
cwhitley@kansaspowerpool.org, (316) 264-3166
Quinter & Kinsley: Michael Volker, Midwest Energy, mvolker@mwenergy.com, (785) 625-1476
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