Heartland awards energy efficiency grants for lighting upgrades

Three Heartland customers earned grants in July for energy efficient lighting upgrades. The cities of Lake Crystal and Madelia, Minnesota and Volga, SD replaced high pressure sodium street lights with LEDs. Volga also replaced fluorescent lighting at two municipal buildings with LED fixtures.

“LED lighting is a smart investment for any utility,” said Heartland Communications Manager Ann Hyland. “They provide a whiter, brighter light that residents seem to like and provide significant energy savings for the utility.”

LED lights last about 100,000 hours, which is much longer than their counterparts, resulting in less maintenance expense from replacing bulbs.

As part of our energy efficiency program, Power Forward, Heartland awards grants to our wholesale customers for projects that will improve energy efficiencies within the city. For more information, visit hcpd.com/energy-efficiency.

Lake Crystal, MN

Lake Crystal Municipal Utilities received a $5,000 grant to complete a street lighting upgrade. This is the third phase of the project with 51 lights being replaced this year and over 100 replaced over the past two years. The utility is expected to save approximately $3,500 a year, providing a simple payback of less than four years.

Madelia, MN

Madelia Municipal Utilities received a $5,000 grant to complete a street lighting upgrade. This is the third phase of the project with 67 lights being replaced this year. The utility is expected to save over $3,000 a year, providing a simple payback of just over four years.

Volga, SD

The city of Volga received a $3,600 grant to replace 20 street light fixtures as well as 30 lights at the fire hall and city shop. The utility expects to realize an annual combined savings of over $1,200 due to the upgrades.