Randy Klindworth CEM
Hillsborough County Energy Conservation Manager
Real Estate Department
601 E. Kennedy Blvd.,
Tampa, FL  33602
Telephone: (813) 276-8789

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Mission Statement
Hillsborough County is committed to the efficient, cost effective, and environmentally responsible use of energy throughout the county’s operations.  Hillsborough County promotes energy efficiency by implementing cost-effective programs that will maintain or improve the quality of the work environment, optimize service reliability and enhance the safety of our workplace.

Hillsborough County began its quest for energy conservation in 1996 when the Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution to participate in the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Cities for Climate Protection Campaign. ICLEI is an international association of local governments who adopt policies and implement measures to achieve reduction in local greenhouse gas emissions to protect the environment. ICLEI requires the development of a Local Action Plan (LAP) that consists of the following five (5) milestones:

1. Conduct an Energy and Emissions Inventory
2. Establish a Reduction Target
3. Develop a Reduction Plan
4. Implement Policies and Measures
5. Monitor and Track the Results

Included in the Local Action Plan was the creation of a new position in the County for an Energy Manager. In April 2000, the Energy Manager was hired and in February 2002 Hillsborough County was presented the 5th milestone from ICLEI. To date, improvements that have been implemented through the program have saved the County more than $3.4 million annually in energy cost avoidance and eliminated more than 18,600 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

The energy savings are a result of:

• Central Chilled Water Plant
• Construct a central chilled water facility with ice storage for the air conditioning of the County’s downtown buildings.

• Upgrading Lighting Systems
• Retrofit existing lighting in County owned facilities and schedule group re-lamping for additional maintenance savings.

• Building Automated Control Systems
• Install automated control systems for County owned buildings that control the air conditioning and lighting systems.

• HVAC System Upgrades
• Upgrade HVAC (Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning) systems for increased operating efficiencies.

• Electricity Demand Control
• Adjust schedule of Public Utilities Department Water Treatment facilities to reduce electric demand.

• Time of Day Operation for Best Billing Rate
• Analyze daily electric usage of facilities for qualification of a change in billing rate from general service to time of day.

• Standby Generator Program
• Public Utility Department’s Water Treatment facility’s with sufficient generation power will operate the facility under generator power when notified by Tampa Electric Company.

• Traffic Signal Retrofit – Incandescent to LED
• Retrofit existing traffic signal lighting from incandescent to LED (Light Emitting Diode).

• Power Supply from Waste to Energy Plant
• Connect Public Utility Department’s Brandon Service and Operations Center, Waste Water Treatment Plant and Central Hillsborough County Water Treatment Plant to the County’s waste to energy facility.

Hillsborough County is an Energy Star Partner with the Department of Energy. Currently the County has four buildings in downtown Tampa with the Energy Star label, including the County Center, Old Main Courthouse, Court Annex Complex and the Public Utilities Administration building on Twiggs Street.

The Energy Star awards for the County Center, Old Main Courthouse and Court Annex Complex were the result of an energy efficiency project completed in 2009. The project worked in unison with an earlier Courts Project where a Central Chiller Plant was constructed to supply chilled water for air conditioning to the County’s downtown facilities. Energy measures implemented were lighting retrofits, air conditioning upgrades, mechanical equipment improvements, building automated control system and thermal (ice) storage for air conditioning. Ice is made during the evening hours at the Central Chiller Plant when electric rates are lower and used during the day to assist in providing air conditioning to the County-owned buildings. The project also included supplying chilled water to the School District of Hillsborough County’s Administration building and the new school Rampello.

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant

Hillsborough County received $7,665,200 in September 2009 in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) funds to undertake the energy efficiency and conservation projects on its facilities and vehicles.

Hillsborough County is using the funds for eight projects.  The projects are located throughout the county at various facilities. They include solar projects, lighting retrofits and facility upgrades, and connecting a facility to an alternate energy source.

The EECBG funding comes from $2.7 billion set aside as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions by governments around the nation.

The stimulus funds are block grants administered by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).  DOE will require grant recipients to report on the number of jobs created or retained, energy saved, renewable energy capacity installed, greenhouse gas emissions reduced, and funds leveraged as a result of the grant.

For more information on the federal energy efficiency and conservation block grant program, visit: www.eecbg.energy.gov.

Solar Photovoltaic Systems

Three of the eight EECBG-funded projects are solar photovoltaic systems that have been installed on County-owned buildings. The largest is the 196-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system on the roof of the County’s Old Main Courthouse Building in downtown Tampa. The solar panels on the building, consisting of 1,350 specially-made solar panels, are supplying approximately 40 percent of the building’s energy load and saving more than 364,000 kilowatt/hours annually in power.  It is estimated that these solar panels will save the County more than $60,500 annually in energy costs and reduce the building’s CO2 emissions by 262.5 tons. According to the Florida Solar Energy Center, it is currently the largest solar photovoltaic project in a downtown urban area in the nation.  The panels cover 32,000 square feet of the building’s roof.

Watch the Old Courthouse Building Solar Unveiling Event (10/15/10) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaH3ygOzr-U

The other two solar photovoltaic systems are located on the Tax Collector’s building on Falkenburg Road and the All People’s Life Center on Sligh Avenue.  The 30 kW solar photovoltaic system on the Tax Collector’s Building is estimated to save 49,148 kilowatt/hours annually in energy and 36.9 tons of CO2 emissions.  The 97 kW solar photovoltaic system on the gymnasium roof of All People's Life Center is estimated to save $15,547annually with an annual energy reduction of 159,056 kilowatt/hours and 119.3 tons of CO2.

Each solar panel is 18 feet in length, 15 inches wide and only 4 millimeters thick.  The type of solar system is called FlexLight Solar Laminate PVL Series photovoltaic system. The panels attach directly to the roof of the building with an ethylene propylene copolymer adhesive-sealant with microbial inhibitor.

The panels are designed to withstand high temperatures and generate electricity at low light levels. They also are unique because they are considered safe even during a major hurricane, in tests conducted by Miami-Dade County.

Real-Time Online Monitoring

All three solar photovoltaic systems have educational, online monitoring web pages which allow you to see the real-time output and savings being created by these systems.  By clicking on the links at the bottom of the monitoring web pages, you can see the results for daily, weekly, annual and lifetime output of the systems, including pounds of CO2 being saved, amount of energy being saved, gallons of gasoline being offset, number of trees being saved, pounds of coal, etc.  The real-time monitoring will allow the County to collect the required energy saving information on the systems to provide to the federal government for its grant requirements.

Computer monitors showing these web pages also are installed in the lobbies of the three buildings and in the lobby of the County Center for the public to see the results of these energy savings systems.

Old Courthouse Building - 419 Pierce Street, downtown Tampa  http://www.hillscty419piercepv.com/
Tax Collector's Building, 2211 N. Falkenburg Road, Tampa              http://www.hillsctytaxcolpvsolar.com/
All People's Life Center, 6105 E. Sligh Avenue, Tampa                      http://www.hillsctyallpeoplespv.com/

The other Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant projects are:

• Orient Road Jail Lighting Retrofit
• Retrofit existing lighting in the jail with new high efficiency lighting. Project completed April 2011.

• Falkenburg Warehouse Complex Lighting Retrofit
• Retrofit the existing high bay lighting (400 watt metal halide) with new efficient induction lights. The project is expected to be completed by August 2011.

• Fleet Vehicle Fuel Monitoring System
• This project installed a computerized monitoring in all County vehicles and fueling stations. The system will monitor idling times of the vehicles and fueling. The project is expected to be completed by September 2011.

• Public Utilities Sludge Processing Retrofit
• This project will replace the existing sludge processing using a belt press to a centrifuge process. The centrifuge will remove more excess moisture from the sludge to reduce transportation costs. This project is expected to be completed in March 2012.

• Public Utilities Water Treatment Plant Power Supply from Waste to Energy Plant
• This project will supply electric power to the Water Treatment Plant from the Resource Recovery Plant (waste to energy). The project is expected to be completed by November 2011.

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