Council cuts thousands off annual energy bill

An energy audit of four Hastings District Council-owned visitor sites found the council could cut $22,241 off its annual energy bill and reduce carbon emissions by 2.5 tonnes each year by implementing some simple energy savings initiatives.

The cost savings were identified in an energy audit of Splash Planet, Hastings Top Ten Holiday Park, the city’s Art Gallery and the Hawke’s Bay Opera House. The audit was part of the Tourism Energy Efficiency Programme (TEEP), a national programme offered by the Tourism Industry Association (TIA) and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) to help tourism businesses reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

TIA Chief Executive Tim Cossar says the energy audit found the council could save $22,241 a year, equal to 7.8% of its annual $283,444 energy bill (year ending October 2009). Almost 50% of those savings could be made at the holiday park ($10,897), 29% at the Opera House ($6458), 15% at the Art Gallery ($3378) and 7% at Splash Planet ($1508).

“The overall energy efficiency of these sites is already good,” says Mr Cossar, who notes that the audit only recommended improvements that were economically viable. “The initiatives recommended are mainly associated with changing energy efficiency plans, reducing idle energy waste and improving lighting efficiency. Additional savings could also be achieved by reducing the supply capacity of the Opera House and reducing the flow rates of communal showers at the holiday park.”

The total cost of implementing the energy efficiency improvements was $4506, which given the potential annual savings of $22,241 offers a very good return on the council’s investment, says Mr Cossar.

Hastings District Council wanted the four council-owned sites energy audited to see where it could become more efficient, explains Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule. “We were given some really good information which has saved us money and let us ‘walk the talk’ of energy efficiency and caring for the environment.

“There were a few surprises to come out of the Holiday Park and Art Gallery reports, including identifying immediate changes and savings we could make, including halving the cost of running a fountain in Civic Square simply by putting a timer on it.”

Mayor Yule was pleased the audit found the council was already doing a very good job of being energy efficient, especially at Splash Planet, but says the audit provided new opportunities to instantly save money.

He says the council has now instigated almost all the energy efficiency actions identified in the audit report and he recommends the process to other visitor businesses that are keen to save money, energy and carbon emissions.

These savings come just weeks after the Hawke’s Bay Opera House was awarded a silver Enviro-Award by tourism quality-assessor QualMark – becoming the first venue in New Zealand to receive the award.

In 2008-2009, TEEP audited 25 accommodation and tourism businesses and found that significant savings could often be made for little or no investment, says Tim Cossar.

“The audits found on average each business could save 15% of energy consumption and 15% of energy costs by introducing a variety of measures around things like heating, lighting, water use, and changing energy plans or providers. More than half those savings could be achieved with less than one year payback on investment.”

Other savings required a more significant financial outlay, for example purchasing heat pumps or converting to solar power. However, the reductions in energy consumption and dollars saved over the medium to long term could total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mr Cossar says the tourism industry recognises it must adopt responsible business practices to minimise its impact on the environment.

“Tourism is one of New Zealand’s most valuable industries, worth $59 million per day, and our environment is the primary reason that international visitors come here. Energy efficiency has been just one of the avenues that the industry is engaging with, along with waste, water, community and conservation initiatives.”

He says the TEEP energy audits have demonstrated that good energy management will not only reduce energy consumption and harmful carbon emissions, it will save businesses money and can give them a marketing edge over competitors that aren’t as environmentally-minded.

TEEP was first developed as a regional pilot in 2008 offering a strong incentive for tourism businesses to save energy, improve profitability and help to conserve the natural environment at the same time. The pilot was extended into a national programme for 2009. Participating businesses received a detailed energy audit identifying potential dollar and energy savings (at about half the usual price) and mentoring and assistance in implementing energy saving opportunities. Read the TEEP case studies on TIA’s website http://www.tianz.org.nz/main/tourism-energy-efficiency-programme/.