The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is installing its first solar energy systems to provide the campus with electricity and hot water. This is the first wave of solar power installations that will soon be commonplace on the campus.

Following carbon-footprint studies conducted by Johnson Controls and university staff, in 2009 the University established one of the nation’s most aggressive Climate Action Plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025.

Read more in The Northwestern. Submit your comments below.

What is your campus doing to utilize renewable energy?

The school is moving ahead with a $921,000 contract guaranteed to upgrade systems and recoup the money spent on energy improvements.

Pablo Pittaluga, with Johnson Controls, presented the final report of his company’s analysis of the Clay County Schools campus.

Read more in The Clay County Progress. Submit your comments below.

How could your school district improve the energy efficiency of its buildings?

South Africa’s first concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar demonstration plant of 60 kW was operational in the Western Cape, and supplying the daytime power requirements for the Aquila safari lodge, near Touws river.

The 60-kW array consists of ten trackers and took about two weeks to install and commission. The technical installation was done by Johnson Controls.

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How is your organization using solar power?

Here are 10 ways you can reduce your energy usage and costs without sacrificing comfort or building functionality.

The tips are among the free tools and case studies available on the Johnson Controls Inc. microsite www.MakeYourBuildingWork.com.

The site launched earlier this summer as part of the company’s campaign to emphasize practical solutions for owners, managers and building operators to improve the energy efficiency and performance of their facilities.

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How many of these practices is your organization following?

Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards 2010 has recognized Johnson Controls Inc as Asia’s Most Ethical Company. Victor Sun, VP & Legal Counsel Asia; Johnson Controls received the award on behalf of Johnson Controls Asia leadership at a function held recently in Singapore. The event aimed at acknowledging the best talent management, human resources practices and continuous innovation in organizations.

Read more on IndiaInfoline.

The first stop on my tour of New York’s Empire State Building was not the observatory rising high atop the 102nd floor, but a window factory on the fifth.

Here, a “green-collar” workforce of 40 strips old windows out of their frames, hangs a new heat-reflecting film between two panes of glass, putties sealant along the edges, and pops them back in the cleaned old frames.

Read more in Bloomberg. Submit your comments below.

How do you think the Empire State Building is a model for other building retrofits?

Johnson Controls’ Metasys systems is what the company calls its ‘core product offering’, based on using technology to monitor a building’s energy and utility-use and hence, have a clearer idea of how the two can be reduced.

Buddy Watters, general manager in the controls division in Jeddah, says that the product acts as an information platform, bringing together the diverse strands of information to create a holistic view. “So it’s not just for the air conditioning but all other forms of information, for lighting, the IT network, security system,” he says.

Read more on ArabianBusiness.com. Submit your comments below.

How is your organization pursuing energy efficiency?

Bradford County will save $800,000 more than anticipated through its ongoing $3 million project to make its buildings more energy efficient, county officials announced on Thursday.

The county will issue $3 million in bonds at a low interest rate to pay for the project, and the interest payments on the bonds are $800,000 less than had been anticipated in June, when the cost of the project was announced, said Joan Sanderson, Bradford County fiscal director.

Read more in The Daily Review. Submit your comments below.

What is your local government doing to increase energy efficiency in public facilities?

Johnson Controls was commissioned to find ways to decrease the energy consumption and the GHG emissions of the site. The retrofit project, which started this year, covers buildings of over 37,000 m2 with a total annual energy cost of over 475,000 euros. Johnson Controls has calculated that following the retrofit works annual energy costs will decrease by 49 percent and GHG emissions will be reduced by 55 percent.

In order to reach these targets, Johnson Controls will deploy an array of retrofit and improvement measures including:

• Replacement of an 850kW oil boiler by a woodchip boiler.
• Installation of two mini gas fired combined heat and power plants (CHP).
• Construction of a gas pipeline for CHP.
• Change of warm water supply in several buildings.
• Installation of a central water-softening plant.
• Replacement of lighting.
• Installation of meters and the modernization of controls and monitoring station.

The total work investment is approximately 1.3 million euros and is fully funded through a 10 year Energy Performance Contract. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.

“Modernizing facilities through Energy Performance Contracting is an economically viable means for reducing the energy consumption and associated carbon emissions of buildings,” explains Agostino Renna, Vice President and General Manager, Energy Solutions, South & Central Europe. “Energy Performance Contracting, as a solution, is fundamental to slowing the impacts of climate change because buildings consume 35 percent of the world’s energy and account for 40 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The inclusion of renewable energy generation technologies within the scope of these projects allows us the ability to both “use less” and “use clean” resulting in lower consumption, lower cost and lower emissions.

A building management systems project installed by Johnson Controls for the University of Minnesota is saving the university $2.4 million in annual energy costs. The University of Minnesota, one of the most comprehensive public universities in the world, houses the state’s flagship research institution, and is home to more than 66,000 students.

Read more in Contracting Business News. Submit your comments below.

How is your college or university saving money on energy?