During the 7th Annual Energy Conference last week, IAMU presented three Customer Recognition Awards for Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. This year’s winners include:
 
Larry and Sharon Hodgden – Nominated by Tipton Municipal Utilities
Larry and Sharon installed 18 solar panels on their home’s roof in November 2018. The first full month of billing was for January 2019. After tax credits, the project cost approximately $10,000. The Hodgdens expect a return on investment of 5% minimum annually. The environmental impact was more important to the couple than the return on investment, though.
 
Northwestern College – Nominated by Orange City Municipal Utilities
The Northwestern College Natural & Health Sciences Building is a 64,163 square-foot facility in Orange City, IA, zone 6a. The facility is a two-story building with basement to house labs, classrooms, and offices for natural health and science. It also has a penthouse for greenhouse space. This facility has a relatively complex mechanical system designed for overall kW, kWh, and therm savings (CHW/HW VAV AHU, chilled beams). It has ERV for ventilation air, a 90-ton chiller sized for only ½-load, ice water storage for the other half of the cooling load, a water/water heat pump energy recovery chiller, variable speed fans and pumping, condensing boilers. This facility also has energy-efficient windows and lighting.
 
Keith’s Foods – Nominated by the City of Bloomfield
Keith’s owner, Brian Burnam, recognized that by making some changes with how the store approached energy usage, he might be able to reduce the store’s utilities costs. Burnam added solar panels to the store’s roof – in two phases – each set producing about 50 kWh, swapped out less efficient lighting with LED lighting, made open refrigerated dairy and deli cases into closed cases, and replaced the produce case with a high-efficiency model. As a result, Keith’s is realizing a 25% energy savings compared to previous usage.

The IAMU phone system will be upgraded on the morning of Friday, Nov. 1.  We plan to start early that morning, but the phone system may not be back up for member calls until lunch time. If you need to reach IAMU staff members during this time, you may want to email them or call them on their cell phones. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.

Select presentations from the 2019 Energy Conference are now available online. 

To view them, click here.

*If you need your member sign-in information, contact Josh Trout at [email protected].*

IAMU members are invited to the Greater Dubuque Development’s Greater Dubuque Sustainable Innovations cocktail reception and dinner meeting. The event will be held from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the Diamond Jo Casino. There is no cost to attend.
 
The City of Dubuque has made significant strides in renewable energy. A key to unlocking new potential for the region from its renewable resources is energy storage. The primary purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the future of energy storage and how it could positively impact the Greater Dubuque area. Dr. George Crabtree, Argonne National Laboratory Senior Scientist and Director of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, will review the present status and future direction of energy storage and help explore potential opportunities for Dubuque. Dave Lyons, Sustainable Innovations Consultant for Greater Dubuque Development, will share several other Sustainable Innovations updates on renewable energy and broadband expansion with the group.
 
Although there is no cost to attend, space is limited. Contact IAMU General Counsel Tim Whipple at [email protected] if you would like to attend.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has designated October as Careers in Construction Month. The observance is designed to increase public awareness and appreciation of construction craft professionals and the entire construction workforce.
 
Construction is one of the nation’s largest industries, employing more than 5 million workers. It’s expected that the United States will need 1.4 million new construction professionals by 2022.

IAMU will host a free apprenticeship workshop during National Apprenticeship Week (Nov. 11-17). The “Establishing & Effectively Managing an Electric Apprenticeship” Workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the IAMU Office.
 
The workshop is designed for managers, journey workers, apprentices, and utility administrative staff involved in apprenticeship programs or would like to start a program. 

• The morning session is geared toward those interested in establishing an electric apprenticeship program at their city/utility. 
• The afternoon session is geared toward those already in a program OR the morning people to go over their responsibilities as set out by the DOL Standard. 

 
IAMU will host an Appreciation Lunch for everyone that day, complete with door prizes and other giveaways.
 
To register, click here.

The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) has scheduled eight Customer Service Fall Meetings throughout Iowa to address energy-related customer issues of importance to utility customer service personnel and community action agency caseworkers.  The sessions are open to utility and community action agency personnel and representatives of other community-based help organizations that assist low-income clients with winter heating bills.

Discussion will include LIHEAP, the Iowa winter home heating energy disconnection moratorium, a review of IUB’s role and jurisdiction, including rules regarding disconnection of utility service and how to file comments or complaints with the IUB.  

New this year: Three sessions will include a webinar option that will allow for active participation from attendees unable to travel to one of the community meetings.

Space is limited at each session. Sign up now to attend using the link to the IUB’s online registration form. If interested in participating remotely via webinar please complete an additional registration submission. 

Oct. 23 is the fifth annual Imagine a Day Without Water, a nationwide day of education and advocacy about the value of water. Led by the Value of Water Campaign, more than 1,000 organizations across the country will raise awareness about not taking water for granted and the crucial need for investment in our nation’s water systems.
 
An investment in our drinking water and wastewater systems is essential to our national health, safety, environment, and economic prosperity. 

Turning on the tap for clean, safe drinking water, and flushing the toilet with no second thought about what happens to wastewater, are actions most Americans take for granted every day. But drought, flooding, and population changes are stressing our water and wastewater systems. While most Americans enjoy reliable water service, our nation’s water infrastructure is aging and in need of investment. A day without water service is a public health and an economic disaster: A single nationwide day without water service would put $43.5 billion in economic activity at risk.

IAMU will be providing social media posts throughout the day on Oct. 23. Feel free to follow IAMU on Facebook (@IAMUpage) and share these posts. In addition, there are numerous free resources available on http://imagineadaywithoutwater.org that you can use to get the word out about the importance of water in your community.