Energy Use
The consumption of fossil fuels is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption is directly linked to the organization’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy Use
The Ecology Headquarters and SWRO Building was originally awarded the Silver LEED-EB certification in 2005. Since that time improvements have been ongoing and continuous to reduce our carbon footprint and save resources.
In 2009 Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire challenged Ecology to reduce our emissions, save public resources and serve as a model for other state agencies. In response, Ecology launched the Carbon Smart Initiative — focused on finding new opportunities to reduce costs and shrink our carbon footprint.
As part of the Carbon Smart Initiative, Ecology partnered with an Energy Services firm and performed an in-depth energy audit of our three owned facilities – Lacey, Spokane and Padilla Bay. Out of their findings, Ecology selected the projects that would save the most energy and had the best payback. The projected annual utility savings as a result of the Energy Upgrades are $103,965. The projected annual operational savings as a result of the Energy Upgrades are $25,605.
Ecology is currently reporting natural gas, fuel oil, propane, biomass, on-site renewable generated ethanol, gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, and aviation fuel.
Fiscal Year 2011 Direct Energy Use
| Gasoline and Ethanol | Gallons | Gigajoules |
|---|---|---|
| Gasoline: Agency Leased Vehicles (MP Perm) | 2,776 | |
| Gasoline: Temporary Leased Vehicles (MP Daily Trips) | 181 | |
| Gasoline: Agency Owned Vehicles (AOV) | 174,859 | |
| Gasoline Calculated from POV Reimbursement (20.5 average fuel economy) | 17,348 | |
| Total Gasoline and Ethanol for Vehicle Use | 195,164 | |
| Total Gasoline and Ethanol for All Uses | 195,164 | 24395.50 |
| Petroleum Diesel | Gallons | Gigajoules |
| Petroleum Diesel (2% Biodiesel) for Vehicle Use | 10,353 | |
| Petroleum Diesel for Buildings and fixed equipment use | 690 | |
| Total Petroleum Diesel | 11,043 | 1523.93 |
| Natural Gas | Therms | Gigajoules |
| Natural Gas Use: Agency Owned Space | 43,287 | |
| Natural Gas Use: Agency Leased Space | 9,907 | |
| Total Natural Gas for all uses | 53,194 | 5611.97 |
| Fuel Oil | Gallons | Gigajoules |
| Total Fuel Oil for all uses | 1,540 | 221.76 |
| Total FY 2011 Direct Energy Use | ----- | 31,753.16 |
Fiscal Year 2011 Indirect Energy Consumption
| Electricity Conventional(kWh) | On-site Renewable Energy Generated (kWh) | Energy Offsets Purchased (kWh) | Total Indirect Energy (kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9,766,123 | 23,730 | 1,175,937 | 10,965,790 |
In Washington State a high proportion of electricity is produced from hydroelectric facilities located on the Columbia River. Ecology’s onsite renewable generation comes from a 21 kW photovoltaic array at our Padilla Bay facility. For FY11 Ecology purchased energy offsets from a variety of renewable sources totaling 1,175,937 kWh.
Ecology Saves $1.2 Million Over Five Years Through Virtualization
In 2010 a compute and storage virtualization effort to reduce operating costs and meet state priorities was launched.
At the start of this project in December 2010, Ecology had 115 physical servers in Lacey. At present there are 38 physical servers remaining. The initial investment for these efforts was about $400,000. Return on investment payback period is expected to be twenty months.
Estimated savings over five years is about $1.2 million. These savings reflect cost avoidance in the physical server purchases, related software licenses, and power and cooling costs.
