Niagara College received a $226,000 rebate from Welland Hydro for installing new high-efficiency chillers and cooling towers. The upgrades are expected to save the college over 936,000 kilowatt hours of energy per year and lower energy costs significantly. The college has implemented several other energy efficiency measures like solar panels, a geothermal windmill, and green building design standards, helping to reduce its environmental impact and energy consumption overall.

1. r ENERGYSAVINGS: Welland Hydro issues $226,000 rebate
Going green saves college cash
lason
Biesma, key projects manaser ut w.rrll?Tf,[:':tt*fj#l:
Orosz, director of customer service and employee relations, present
Niagara.College corporate services vice-presidint Tereia a;'irlil;iacting_director of facilities management services John citiingJ wiilr-
a $226,000 retrofit incentive payment for the college! new high-
efficiency chillers and cooling towers.
vices, said she was thrilled with
the progress the college has made
and about many of the energy-
efficient technologies it has intro-
duced in the past four years.
"We're very excited. These chill-
ers can feed the whole campus
with chilledwater.
"Wehave seen significant saving
from the boilers we installed four
years ago and we expect we will
see more of the same which is in
line with our centralized planl'
The college also has solarpanels
on the roof, a geothermal windmill
and building design standards that
help reduce the college's energy
consumption.
|ohn Gittings, the college's
acting director of facilities man-
agemeirt services, said the school's
applied.health institute was
designed with the environment
inmind.
"The skin of the building was
built in such a way that it saves
energy. The windows were placed
in such a way that they allow more
sun light in so, we can use less
lights. All the rainwaterls collected
on the roof and that's what we use
to flush toiletsj' Gittings said.
He and Quinlin said dirt from
Woodlalrryr Rd. ripped up during
construction was used to create
berms that protect the building
from the wind also reducing need
for heating and cooling.
VICTORIA GRAY
Tribune Staff
WELLAND
- Reducing its
carbon footprint has earned
Niagara College big savings.
. The school reseived.a,$226,000
retrofit
-program incentive pay-
ment.lrom Welland Hvdro.
Ttesday.
The college installed two high-
efficiency chillers and cooling
towers at a cost of $1.3 million
during its 2011 Welland campus
redevelopment.
Iason Biesma, key projects
manager at Welland Hydro, said
the college will save more than
936,000 kilowatt hours of energy
a year.
"The incentive cheque is the
icing on the cake, It's the annual
and monthly savings that are the
keyi' Biesma said. "That's the
reason to do it, that's where the
real savings happenl'
Teresa Quinlin, the college's
vice-president of corporate ser-