Projects

Accomplishing projects that decrease energy costs and promote sustainability is the priority of the City’s Energy Corps Sustainability Coordinator. Management plans for completed projects and an update on projects that are in progress can be found below.

Completed Projects

• Library SunPower Management Plan
• Plow Shop Occupancy Sensor Management Plan
• Programmable Thermostat Management Plan
• Occupancy Sensor Management Plan
• Lions Park LED Retrofit Management Plan
• Window Replacement Management Plan
• Grant Well Variable Frequency Drive Management Plan
• Attic Insulation Management Plan
• Wastewater Treatment Plant Variable Frequency Drive Management Plan
• LED Building Retrofit Management Plan
• 14 Decorative Streetlights LED Retrofit Management Plan
• Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Management Plan
  • Monitoring Sheet 
  • July 2020 Performance Update
• Water Bottle Filling Station Management Plan (pending)
• Solarize Post Project Report
  • Solarize ‘At A Glance’ Summary

Projects In-Progress

• Citywide LED Retrofit
  • The City and NorthWestern Energy have worked together to designate Red Lodge as one of the first towns to benefit from an LED retrofit of every light in town the utility owns. The decorative lights on Broadway from 8-14th street were retrofitted in December 2019, and the City replaced the city-owned lights that were out on 3rd-8th street with our own bulbs that match in color.
  • NWE has finished the Citywide LED retrofit of all 235 lights the City pays energy use for, and now they have started retrofitting residential and commercial lighting in town as well. The City is expecting to save $9,000 annually on its energy bills. The project will also reduce the City’s greenhouse gas emissions by 3%.
  • NorthWestern Energy LED Retrofit of Red Lodge Fact Sheet
• Wastewater & Water Treatment Plant LED Retrofit
  • The Energy Corps member is currently overseeing the retrofit of all lighting in our Wastewater and Water Treatment facilities to LED. This will save the City over $2,000 annually with a payback period just over 2 years. This project will help the City reach its goal of converting all City-owned lighting to LED by 2022.
• Solar System on City Hall and Police Station
  • The Energy Corps member is working with a Sustainability Board committee to apply for a grant from NorthWestern Energy to cover 80-90% of the costs of a 28 kW array on the City’s Police Station. This would help offset 100% of the electricity from both buildings, an estimated $4,200 value annually with a 3 year payback period from the matching funds for the grant.
• Energy Performance Contracting
  • The City has published a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking energy performance contracting services from qualified energy service providers to perform an investment grade audit of our facilities. This is a budget-neutral solution to become more energy efficient in the long term by bundling together many energy efficiencies and renewable energy projects and using guaranteed future savings to finance the upfront costs. Find out more about this program from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.