PITTSBURGH — Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato will be a featured speaker at the National Association of Counties’ 2011 Forum on Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy in Los Angeles on Thursday, January 20. Onorato and County Sustainability Manager Jeaneen Zappa will join other county leaders from around the nation to discuss energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as to share strategies for energy management.

“It should come as no surprise that Allegheny County has been recognized by the National Association of Counties as a leader in sustainable development, green technology and environmental stewardship,” said Onorato. “Over the past few years, we have made great strides in making Allegheny County more environmentally friendly. I am pleased that our work is being nationally recognized, and I look forward to sharing our successes with other elected officials and staff from across the country.”

Onorato plans to discuss energy conservation projects funded by an $8.1 million Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) from the U.S. Department of Energy. With these funds, Allegheny County conducted energy audits of its largest buildings and is installing energy saving features, such as upgraded lighting, room occupancy sensors, HVAC upgrades, and new boilers and condensers. All counties represented at the forum have received either EECBG funding or similar grants.

“Federal and state funding is a vital component of any sustainability project, and we’ve been fortunate to receive federal and state dollars to help us become more energy efficient and save taxpayers money,” added Onorato. “We’re always searching for ways to operate more efficiently, and at the forum, I hope to learn about new opportunities and approaches that we can implement here in Allegheny County.”

Another project Onorato will highlight is the 8,400-square-foot green roof on the County Office Building at 542 Forbes Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh, which was funded with EECBG dollars. The green roof is already providing an insulating effect for the County Office Building, reducing heating and cooling costs for taxpayers. The roof is also successfully performing its primary function of absorbing rainwater to reduce stress on Pittsburgh’s sewer system. The County is using the green roof to show residents and businesses how they can employ green infrastructure to benefit the environment and be energy efficient as well.

Allegheny County also provided a portion of its EECBG funds to audit energy usage in municipal buildings, including lighting systems, heating and air conditioning, and overall thermal envelope. Duquesne Light will review the audit findings for each municipal building and recommend projects to reduce energy demand and consumption, such as upgraded lighting, room occupancy sensors, insulation and other weatherization activities.

The County will provide grants totaling $2 million from its EECBG allocation to fund the municipal upgrades. Grant eligibility will be based on the percentage of low- and moderate-income population in each municipality. Thirty-seven boroughs and townships will be eligible for grants covering 100 percent of upgrade costs, 62 municipalities will be eligible for grants covering 75 percent of costs, and 27 will be eligible for grants covering 50 percent of costs. Duquesne Light will assist the County in monitoring construction activity, contractor compliance, and quantifiable energy savings.

Other energy-saving initiatives include the conversion of more than 800 incandescent lights at the Allegheny County Jail to high-efficiency LED lights, which consume 83 percent less energy and save taxpayers $178,000 per year. Following on the success of this project, the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority awarded the Allegheny County Airport Authority an $800,000 grant to install LED lights in parking lots and garages at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Onorato will also discuss the Western Pennsylvania Energy Consortium (WPEC) created by Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh to obtain the best possible price for electricity. WPEC has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a “Green Power Partner” for purchasing renewable energy and saving its member institutions $1.4 million in its first two-year generation and transmission contract.

The County Executive will share information on Allegheny County’s role in the PJM Interconnection’s Demand Response Program, which aids in the reliability of the regional electricity grid. The PJM Interconnection is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. PJM serves 51 million people.

Through the Demand Response Program, successful participants will receive payments for voluntarily reducing their electricity use when heavy demand threatens the PJM electricity grid and brownouts or blackouts are imminent. The County successfully conducted a test event to meet its committed kilowatt-hour reduction in August 2010, and the County is receiving a payment of approximately $300,000 for the effort.

The goal of the program is to temporarily reduce electricity consumption during times of peak energy demand to ensure system reliability and to decrease the environmental impacts and economic costs of building new power plants to meet infrequent peak demand.

As a PJM Demand Response Program participant, the County will receive event notifications up to a day in advance, and it will initiate pre-determined measures to reduce energy consumption throughout its buildings. Event days are triggered by power system capacity constraints caused by (but not limited to) a localized system capacity emergency declared by PJM or forecasted high temperatures.

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In 2008, Onorato launched “Allegheny Green,” a comprehensive initiative to promote sustainable practices within County government through countywide policies, programs, and green projects. With a collective goal of reducing the County’s ecological footprint and reducing taxpayer costs, Allegheny Green focuses on external leadership activities and internal practices. For additional information on Allegheny Green, visit www.alleghenycounty.us/alleghenygreen.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. Founded in 1935, NACo provides essential services to the nation’s 3,068 counties. NACo advances issues with a unified voice before the federal government, improves the public's understanding of county government, assists counties in finding and sharing innovative solutions through education and research, and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money. For more information about NACo, visit www.naco.org.

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