Time running out on grants

SANDPOINT — Time is running out for the city to take advantage of an energy efficiency grant won in 2009.

According to City Planner Jeremy Grimm, the city either needs to use or lose an American Recovery and Reinvestment Grant Act acquired almost three years ago. If the money hasn’t been spent by the end of March, it goes back to the federal government.

At the recent Public Works Committee meeting, Grimm requested that members recommend approval to the City Council for a $212,717 contract with Martin Machinery for the installation of a wastewater bio-gas generator at the new treatment plant. The following day, he also suggested the Administration Committee recommend using another chunk of the grant money for new, more efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning machinery, also known as HVAC units, in City Hall.

Since bio-gas is a byproduct of the wastewater treatment plant, the generator will turn that incidental detail into an advantage for the city. Designed as combined heat and power skid-mounted unit, the generator burns flared bio-gas and feeds the created electricity back into the plant, saving about $40,000 in energy costs a year. Meanwhile, the captured heat could be fed back into the plant’s digester. A heating process is necessary for the plant to function, and the generator could save some of the natural gas and methane currently used. The installation process will be a lengthy one, but the Idaho Office of Energy Resources has petitioned the U.S. Department of Energy for an extension.

As for the HVAC units, Grimm had received several bids ranging from $29,227.95 to $38,586.89. Nevertheless, he and Parks Director Kim Woodruff were hesitant to accept any of the offers. By using more of the grant money — about $60,000 or $65,000, to be precise — they could acquire even more efficient units at no additional cost to the city. Since all unused grant money returns to the federal government anyway, there was no disadvantage to exploring the possibility aside from the encroaching deadline. Committee members agreed that the more efficient units were the way to go.

These energy-saving devices weren’t Grimm’s first option. He originally explored the possibility of a woody bio-mass generator that fell through due to air quality issues. With some firm plans in place for the money, however, the city could soon be on its way to saving some substantial money.