More on Arlington County Government systems excellence

The Bacon's Rebellion website on Virginia politics also has a companion blog. This entry, "Sun Shines Light on Arlington Energy Investments," discusses ROI (return on investment) reaped by Arlington County, for their investments in energy efficiency.

From the entry:

Overall, Arlington County has reaped 20 cents in operating savings for every dollar invested in conservation.For example, says Diana Sun, communications director for the county, the County spent $130,000 on energy-efficient lighting for its courthouse in 2005. That is saving $22,000 a year in electricity and maintenance costs currently. The savings will mount when the cap on Dominion electric rates comes off and charges start rising again.

Sun cites other examples:

Energy-efficient lighting and improvements to the steam heating plant at the Justice Center (courthouse and jail) cost $200,000 to install and are saving more than $70,000 in annual utility bills.

The County reduced electricity use at Central Library by 25 percent, saving more than $30,000 a year, with improved operation and maintenance, and investments in new lighting, efficient equipment, and improved controls.

Reinsulated hot water pipes and improved temperature controls at the Madison Community Center have reduced natural gas use over 20 percent.

A lighting retrofit at a teen detention facility cost $6,000 in 2002, and has cut electricity use by 30 percent, saving $4,000 a year.

Arlington County has retrofitted more than half of its signalized traffic intersections with light-emitting diode (LED) traffic lights. These LED traffic lights are brighter, use 25 percent as much electricity as traditional signals, and last 10 times longer. By 2010, all traffic signals will be LED lights.
---------
This is an economic competitiveness issue with many dimensions.