Address: 175 W Kellogg Blvd, Saint Paul, MN 55102

Overview:

With a mission to become regional leaders in sustainability, Saint Paul RiverCentre and Xcel Energy Center launched waste and energy initiatives that quickly became the fabric of how they manage the facilities on a daily basis.

The energy goal, called 80-20 in 3, aims to reduce the facilities’ carbon footprint by 80 percent and make them 20 percent more efficient than average over three  years. This is being accomplished in three ways: by operating existing equipment and systems more efficiently, by retrofitting inefficient equipment with better technology, and by offsetting the remaining carbon footprint through a combination of on-site and off-site renewable energy.

Benefits:

• Operating Savings – A retrofit of over 1,000 lights in the RiverCentre parking ramp reduced energy costs by over $50,000 per year.
• Energy Savings – The parking ramp lighting retrofit reduced the ramp’s electricity needs by 47%. After 18 months of operational improvements, the facilities are now operating 18.3% more efficiently than average, in comparison with similar buildings in this region.
• Carbon Savings – In the first year of effort, efficiency improvements alone reduced the carbon footprint of these facilities by 19%.
• Community Economic Benefits – These programs aim to help drive demand for efficient technology, which will ultimately make these kinds of projects more feasible and affordable for others in the community.

Partners:

• City of Saint Paul
• Saint Paul RiverCentre
• US Department of Energy – Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant
• Xcel Energy

To learn more, visit its dedicated sustainability microsite at www.xcelenergycenter.com/sustainability.