Energy Study: Dunn County would realize enough energy savings to pay for new judicial center HVAC
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — According to a recently-completed energy study, Dunn County would save enough money on energy to pay for a new heating-ventilation-air conditioning system at the Dunn County Judicial Center.
The judicial center was built in 1998. The HVAC system is based on boilers and chillers, and full replacement of the system would cost $3 million to $6 million, said Dan Dunbar, assistant county manager, at the Dunn County Board’s budget workshop on August 28.
The judicial center has an inefficient system. The boiler runs in the summer to warm the air conditioned air, and it is an out-of-date system, Dunbar said.
The system at the judicial center is inefficient and also is at end-of-life, noted Kelly McCullough, county board supervisor from Menomonie and chair of the Dunn County Board.
Veregy LLC completed the energy study. The Dunn County Government Center and the Neighbors of Dunn County both have a geothermal HVAC system, and the recommendation is to install geothermal for the judicial center with solar panels to power the system, Dunbar said.
Inflation Reduction Act
The federal government’s Inflation Reduction Act allows tax-exempt and governmental entities to receive elective payments for 12 clean energy tax credits, Dunbar said, noting that solar and geothermal are both on the list to qualify for the credits.
United States residents can get money back on their federal tax returns, and the federal government will give money to government entities and tax exempt organizations, he said.
Qualified Energy Service companies will guarantee an annual energy savings, and the savings can be used to pay off the installation costs, Dunbar said.
The installation of a geothermal system and solar panels would be at no additional cost to taxpayers. The energy service company would pay the difference if Dunn County does not save as much energy as the company guaranteed, he said.
The project would include five acres of solar panels, Dunbar said.
A number of years back, the state of Wisconsin encouraged school districts to make energy efficiency improvements and to use Qualified Energy Service companies.
The Federal Department of Energy has a Qualified List of Energy Service Companies that have been approved by a review board.
The Colfax school district participated in the energy efficiency program and recently paid off the amount borrowed using money that had been saved by making the school buildings more energy efficient.
Car example
Dunbar gave an example using a car to make the point about replacing the HVAC system at the judicial center.
Say that you have an old car that gets 10 miles to the gallon and is paid off and is worth $4,000. The car needs tires, so you spend $2,000 to put new tires on the car. Then it needs new tie rods for $500, then the transmission fails and it costs $3,000 to replace. You have spent $5,500 on a car worth $4,000, Dunbar said.
You could replace the car with a vehicle that costs $8,000 and gets 30 miles to the gallon, but you would lose the $2,500 you invested in tires and tie rods, he said.
Or, you could avoid the situation all together.
You could spend $8,000 on a car that gets 30 miles to the gallon before you are forced to invest in the old car by replacing tires, tie rods and the transmission, and you would be buying fewer gallons of gasoline because of the increased gas mileage, Dunbar said.
Judicial center
The judicial center is like the old car.
The HVAC is 25 years old and is paid off. The system is not energy efficient, Dunbar said.
The air handlers could need to be replaced soon for $500,000 each, since the system is at end-of-life, and then one week later, the connections could start leaking, and a repair would be needed for $10,000, he said.
After repairing and replacing parts of the HVAC system, Dunn County could then spend $5 million on replacing the HVAC system after spending $1.01 million for repairs, and that would all be included on the debt levy and the property taxes paid by Dunn County residents, Dunbar said.
Or, Dunn County could avoid the situation all together.
The county could spend $11 million on an energy efficient system, receive $3.7 million in tax credits from the federal government, and then use the energy savings to pay for the project and have the guarantee that the cost of the project would not be included on the debt levy paid by taxpayers, Dunbar said.
At facilities committee meetings in the past, it has been noted that Dunn County pays much more per year on heating and cooling the judicial center than the county spends on heating and cooling the government center which has a geothermal system.
