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Kane energy plan says ‘behavior modification’ could save $3.4 billion

Kane County Board floats energy plan

Kane County Board members learned the value of energy-efficient light bulbs and lowering the heat in buildings when looking to cut the county budget last year. On Wednesday, they learned convincing local homeowners and businesses to follow suit could save the entire area up to $3.4 billion in energy costs by 2040.

That eye-bulging dollar figure may soon lead to the adoption of a new energy plan — but the plan already has at least one skeptic.

The energy plan would be the first in recent history for the county. Officials did develop a plan in 2005, but its recommendations focused only on electricity and contradicted the county’s planning priorities, so it was never adopted.

With population increases and ComEd bucking for a rate hike to fund infrastructure improvements, experts expect energy costs to rise during the next 30 years. The county’s energy consultant, Chicago-based CNTenergy, told members of the county’s Energy and Environmental Committee now is the time to make a hard push for energy conservation. There are unprecedented federal, state and local grant and revolving loan funds available to make local homes, farms and businesses more energy-efficient, the consultants said.

Only 8 percent of the energy produced in the region comes from renewable sources like wind farms and solar power. The bulk of the energy comes from coal burning. Local commercial and industrial outlets eat up most of the electricity, homeowners burn through most of the natural gas. Where farms fit into the picture is a gray area within the numbers.

The consultants developed 10 strategies for reducing local energy consumption, including encouraging on-site renewable energy use. The county has already started exploring the issue of residential wind turbines, and other suggestions include replacing inefficient refrigerators and air conditioners, as well as adopting “green” building standards as part of county and municipal building codes.

But the most difficult part of the plan is “behavior modification.”

CNTenergy’s Delmar Gillus said the part that will make sense to most people is more money in their pockets.

“There’s a really big economic case to be made in this space,” Gillus said. “One of the discussions that we’re having with building owners and companies is the fact that if you implement some energy efficiency measures you can save anywhere between 15 and 30 percent on your energy costs. You can get into a lot of political arguments about climate change and housing density, but when you start talking to people about how energy efficiency affects their pocketbooks, people really begin to perk up and listen.”

But Committee Member Mike Donahue said he wasn’t convinced people are ready to perk up.

“The fact is we all stand in front of the refrigerator for 5 minutes deciding what to eat because we don’t think about the fact that it’s going to cost us money,” Donahue said. “We all tell our teenagers not to take showers that last until the water turns cold, but they still do it. The problem is energy is cheap. That’s a good problem to have, but if you want to see behavior modification, unfortunately what you need to see is higher energy costs. That’s going to be the difference in whether we waste it or not.”

CNTenergy’s Lindy Wordlaw said the county and local municipalities must engage in a true public education campaign, perhaps similar to the one on the dangers of tobacco, to really change behavior.

“You need to get into the schools so kids are going home and telling their parents, ‘We need to recycle,’ ” Wordlaw said.