Energy Efficiency & Sustainability
NEW STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO
MUNICIPAL ENERGY PLANNING AVAILABLE
Wisconsin municipalities-cities, town, villages and counties-have a new tool in their efforts to conserve energy along with public dollars.
"Municipal Energy Planning: An Energy Efficiency Workbook," created by the University of Wisconsin-Extension Sustainability and Energy Conservation team, was developed for elected officials, administrators and municipal staff who are trying to make their operations more energy- and cost-efficient while reducing greenhouse gases and increasing local energy security.
"More and more communities are looking at all aspects of sustainability--but high on everyone's list is energy. We wanted to provide a very practical resource for people to develop energy plans in particular," says Andrew Dane, University of Wisconsin-Extension community development specialist for Barron and Chippewa counties and spokesperson for the team.
Municipal facilities and operations typically use considerable amounts of energy, often relying on fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and oil. Rising fuel costs, along with energy security and environmental concerns, are driving governments to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings and operations.
"This workbook provides a blueprint for developing an energy efficiency plan and includes instruction on getting started, assessing current energy use, evaluating the potential for conservation, looking at options and developing a plan," says Dane.
"Communities around the state of Wisconsin are discussing energy issues," adds Brian Driscoll, community relations director from the Office of Energy Independence. "Planning for Wisconsin's clean energy future is important for all us. UW-Extension's Municipal Energy Workbook is a tool to assist communities with organization, resources and examples of completed energy plans. This tool will help move Wisconsin toward our energy independence goals."
The workbook is available online at http://www3.uwsuper.edu/sustainability/Publications.htm
Contact Andrew Dane, 715-726-7950, andrew.dane@ces.uwex.edu
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