© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Columbia aims to win $5 million energy prize

The Columbia City Council voted to keep taxi stands on local streets.
File
/
KBIA
The Columbia City Council voted to keep taxi stands on local streets.

Georgetown University is holding a contest and offering a $5 million prize to the city that reduces its energy consumption the most. The City of Columbia is working on a long term energy efficiency plan to try and win the prize.

The City of Columbia began making changes to its energy efficiency plan long before Georgetown University announced its $5 million energy prize.

Columbia Water and Light spokesperson, Connie Kacprowicz, said Columbia Water and Light expanded their existing energy efficiency program in 2008.

Kacprowicz said, "One of the premier programs we have is the Home Performance with Energy Star program. That is a whole house approach to energy efficiency, so it's not just looking at one individual thing like lighting or appliances. It's looking at everything from air sealing, insulation to the efficiency of the heating and cooling equipment."

She said homeowners who go through the Home Performance program, are eligible for up to $1200 in rebates.  Kacprowicz said most homeowners save an average of 25 to 30 percent off their utility bills. She says some energy bills are reduced by 60 percent.

Those savings could help Columbia win the $5 million Energy Prize.

Columbia Water and Light is partnering with CoMo Energy Challenge, Columbia's campaign for becoming more energy efficient, to submit a two-year energy plan for the competition.

Columbia's Office of Sustainability created CoMo Energy Challenge to create awareness and change in an effort to win the $5 million Energy Prize offered by Georgetown University.

CoMo Energy Challenge teamed up with Community Foundation of Central Missouri, a non-profit, fund management organization.

The foundation matched a grant from Partners for Places, a grant matching program to improve communities. The grant money will be used to educated and bring awareness to the community for the Energy Prize competition.

Brenna Reed is a sustainability educator for CoMo Energy Challenge. She said the competition isn't just about winning $5 million.

Reed said, "We really want this campaign to stress the importance of a behavioral change around energy efficiency and not just residents, you know, turning off their lights or doing these things only for the two-year period. We really want it to make a lasting change."

She said if Columbia does win the competition, it will be up to the community to decide how to use the prize money. The money could possibly help upgrade street lights to LEDD bulbs or the money ­­­could go into a loan foundation that residents can use to make energy efficient upgrades to their homes.

Columbia Power and Light will start monitoring the city's energy use at the beginning of the New Year and will run for two years. Winners for the Energy Prize will be announced in 2017.