NORTH COAST, Calif. – During its meeting last Wednesday, March 6, the Mendocino College Board of Trustees received two checks totaling nearly $800,000 for the school’s efforts to improve energy efficiency on its main campus.
At the meeting Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and the California Community College-Investor Owned Utility (CCC-IOU) partnership presented the board with a $293,223 rebate check for its recent energy efficient upgrades and energy efficient building design of the Library Learning Resource Center.
In addition, PG&E presented a second check in the amount of $500,000 for participation in the utility zero percent On-Bill Financing loan program to fund energy efficiency upgrades.
These financial rebates and incentives will help offset costs of the college’s significant energy upgrades, which included installation of energy efficient HVAC systems, as well as installing an energy management system to better control building operation throughout their campus.
The Mendocino-Lake Community College District also constructed a new library that exceeded standard design code by more than 20 percent, resulting in additional Savings By Design incentives, and the district upgraded exterior parking lot lighting to a more energy efficient lighting fixture.
These energy efficient upgrades are estimated to reduce Mendocino College’s annual energy bill by approximately $185,000 and saved more than 993,000 kilowatt hours of energy and 42,000 therms, the equivalent of powering 104 homes or removing 31 cars from the road for one year.
Additionally, in 2010, Mendocino College installed 927 kW of solar array which will result in significant energy savings over the next 25 years.