Energy Trust of Oregon Customer Success Stories

Since 2002, the organization has provided energy solutions to utility customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas. Nearly 438,000 residences, businesses and industrial facilities now use energy efficiently or generate their own power with renewable energy.

The following is a sample of the thousands of customers that have participated in Energy Trust programs over the past decade.

Central Oregon 

In its first full year of operation in 2011, the Central Oregon Irrigation District’s Juniper Ridge hydropower project near Bend generated more renewable energy than expected. As part of building the system, the district replaced more than two miles of canal with high-pressure pipe, eliminating water losses, benefiting fish and restoring enough water to the Deschutes River to fill 19 Olympic-sized swimming pools every day.

Mountain Laurel Lodge in Bend, a 54-unit affordable, independent living retirement community, installed an 18.5-kilowatt solar electric system that received Energy Trust incentives and a Blue Sky Grant from Pacific Power. A solar water heating system also qualified for an Energy Trust incentive. Both systems serve the facility’s common areas, minimizing utility costs to help keep rents affordable.

Portland Metro / Willamette Valley

Pacific Natural Foods, a Tualatin-based producer of natural and organic food products, has implemented 20 energy improvement projects with Energy Trust since 2005 — from lighting to refrigeration controls to compressed air systems — reducing its annual energy use by more than 1.7 million kilowatt hours and saving more than $126,000 in annual energy costs.

Verl Holden has glowing reviews for the solar electric system he installed at Holden Wholesale Growers, his Silverton nursery, to power his lights, water pumps and equipment. With a $43,000 Energy Trust incentive, Holden invested in a 29.6-kilowatt system that avoids 5,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually and saves more than $2,000 on utility bills each year.

Eastern Oregon 

Threemile Canyon Farms in Boardman is one of the nation’s largest dairy operations and a major producer of potatoes and other crops. The business has completed several studies and at least ten projects with Energy Trust, saving 7.8 million kilowatt hours and more than $350,000 in annual utility costs.

The Wallowa Memorial Hospital in Enterprise invested in an innovative ground-source heat pump to provide year-round comfort and energy savings, as well as high-efficiency lighting and insulation. “It makes good common sense that we use energy-efficient methods, both for our bottom line and for the environment,” said Dave Harman, Wallowa Memorial Hospital.

Southern Oregon 

Lithia Motors received $265,000 in Energy Trust incentives for its investment in dozens of high efficiency lighting projects that saved 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity. The company recently completed construction of its downtown headquarters, and the new building is expected to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.

Students at Brixner Junior High in the Klamath County School District are getting a better look at their class work thanks to a school-wide lighting upgrade that replaced outdated, inefficient lights with energy-efficient lights. Brixner is one of three schools in the district, including Chiloquin Elementary and Lost River Jr./Sr. High School to undergo a comprehensive lighting renovation.

Combined annual energy savings are estimated at $129,000.

Coast

Southport Forest Products, a sawmill operation in North Bend, invested in highly efficient natural gas equipment and systems to reclaim waste heat and use it to dry wood — all to support product diversification and expansion into overseas markets. Combined with electric efficiency projects, the sawmill now benefits from lower operating costs, improved controls and annual energy savings of $131,000.

Efficient use of maintenance funds is a high priority for the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District, the operator of the taxpayer-funded Sunset Pool in Seaside. The district installed a new heating and air conditioning system that reduces costs by using less energy to maintain warmer indoor air temperatures and lower humidity. The new system also recovers waste heat to help warm pool water and heat water for showers.

Find more customer stories and Energy Trust highlights

An Energy Trust online timeline at www.energytrust.org/timeline features more customer stories and highlights from the past decade, including ten years of accumulated energy savings and bill savings benefiting customers.

Learn more at www.energytrust.org or call 1-866-368-7878.