Little Rock – Four AAEA members have been selected as, or performed key work for, finalists for ADEQ’s 2018 Environmental Awards: Brown Engineers, The City of Fayetteville, Johnson Controls and Today’s Power. Finalists will be recognized and winners announced by Gov. Asa Hutchinson and ADEQ Director Becky Keogh at a ceremony on April 24, 2018, at 10 a.m. in the Governor’s Conference Room in the State Capitol Building. The AAEA member projects include the following:
– The City of Fayetteville is a TECHe Award Finalist. Looking for a replacement for the aged ultraviolet disinfection system at the Paul R. Noland Water Resource Recovery Facility, the City conducted a large-scale pilot of the HyDOZ system (a proprietary technology for ozonating water and wastewater developed by local company BlueInGreen). The pilot study was a success and in June 2017 the City celebrated the successful installation and operation of a full-scale HyDOZ Disinfection System. The HyDOZ Disinfection System is the first of its kind to be installed in a wastewater treatment facility.
– Today’s Power developed a 120-kilowatt solar farm for E2 award finalist Arkansas Rural Internet Service. ARIS is the first partnership in the U.S. between an electric company, Ouachita Electric Cooperative (OECC), and a local telephone and internet provider, South Arkansas Telephone Company (SATCO). Together, the utilities are bringing high-speed internet to a rural, five-county area of South Arkansas that has been largely unserved. Through the collaboration, SATCO built a three-acre, 120 kilowatt solar farm, developed by Today’s Power. OECC is providing its existing electric poles to run the fiber optic cable. Due to the low cost of the solar power and the avoidance of the need to trench and bury the fiber optic cable, costs to the customers are kept to a minimum.
– Johnson Controls conducted energy upgrades, including a 739-kilowatt solar array, for E2 award finalist Arkansas State University–Newport. The college recently “flipped the switch” on a 739 kw PV system with 2,112 solar panels. The array is the largest publicly owned solar array in Arkansas that is not owned by a utility. It is expected to generate 1 million+ kilowatt hours annually. The total energy cost avoidance over a 20-year period is expected to total more than $2.64 million. ASUN is now using solar power to support 50% of the electric consumption of its campus. In addition, ASUN made $2.2 million in energy-efficient upgrades and improvements across its three campuses. Johnson Controls conducted ASUN’s energy upgrades through the Arkansas Energy Performance Contracting program.
– Brown Engineers performed key work for E2 award finalist Clarksville Light and Water Company. CLW’s new 6.5-megawatt solar array produces approximately 11 million kilowatt hours annually, and supplies 25% of CLW’s residential electricity load.The system will save Clarksville about $500,000 a year on electricity costs. Brown Engineers developed the Supervisory Control Systems for CLW and integrated the solar production data into the existing computer-based control system. The Supervisory Control System, designed and programmed by Brown Engineers, has helped CLW’s electric department increase reliability of the electric grid.
The TECHe Award recognizes the advances or innovative use of technology that breaks new ground in protecting resources or improving the environment by going beyond traditional environmental control measures, approaches, or outcomes.
The E2 Award recognizes organizations that demonstrate outstanding leadership by implementing forward-thinking initiatives in areas of energy efficiency and resilience.
Last year’s inaugural E2 Award winner, Arkansas State University—Jonesboro, was recognized for its $15 million guaranteed energy savings contract with Johnson Controls through the Arkansas Energy Performance Contracting Program.
Read about all finalists in ADEQ’s news release.