For the past 15 years, Southern Company and Mississippi Power have been focusing their renewable energy research on biomass energy, particularly cocombustion and existing electrical feedback. The Mississippi University for Women (MUW) has also conducted a series of energy efficiency projects with institutional and public service funding, resulting in a 28 percent reduction in energy consumption across the campus. To gain insight into the energy consumption of state facilities, the Mississippi Central Database was used to compare the energy use of IHL facilities. The State Energy Program provided funding for the development of an implementation model for the state of Mississippi.
With this funding, the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) launched a project to compare the energy use of IHL facilities and use the findings to modernize facilities with the greatest potential for energy savings. During the meeting, the MDA and platform developer presented their project plan and introduced a cloud-based energy data collection system as the central data collection system for the project. The State Energy Program also provided funding for the MDA to develop a strategy to evaluate building performance and prioritize energy efficiency modernization projects. The last step of this project was to collect and publish best practices for distribution to other state agencies interested in implementing energy efficiency modernizations.
The strategic guide includes information on how to obtain support for energy projects, steps on how to compare buildings, a list of activities and measures to achieve a 20 percent reduction in energy consumption across the entire building portfolio, and a list of resources and funding opportunities. To ensure success, MDA recruited partners with experience in energy efficiency, energy modernization of buildings, engineering and project management.
Biomass
is considered to be one of the most promising renewable resources in the Southeast and Mississippi Power service area. By carefully measuring savings and costs of public services, university financial officials can allocate expected cost reductions in their utility budget to future energy-saving projects.Mississippi evaluated the energy use of IHL facilities and used the results to plan and execute projects to improve energy efficiency, resulting in significant savings in both energy and energy costs. In addition, every IHL now has a master meter for both electricity and natural gas, allowing individual installations to be compared and tracking the benefits of individual energy management projects.
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