Head of School Andy Watson Receives Energy Award

The New Mexico Association of Energy Engineers (NMAEE) recently presented Head of School Andy Watson with the Energy Executive of the Year Award. At an awards ceremony and dinner, Andy accepted the award on behalf of everyone on campus. He commented afterwards, “It was a great pleasure to accept the NMAEE award on behalf of the Academy, our supportive and wise board of trustees, and everyone on campus, particularly Director of Physical Plant John Christensen, as they plan and execute such thoughtful energy projects.”

In addition to the energy saving projects below, the Academy campus is also home to a number of gardens, recycling and composting initiatives, and a farmers’ market.

Campus Energy Projects
In the past ten years, under John Christensen’s leadership, the Academy has undertaken initiatives that have made a significant difference in conservation, efficiency, and generation efforts:

• January 2011: Solar array went online. The third party construction and subsequent power purchase agreement was perfect timing and took maximum advantage of the then 15 cent per kilowatt hour (kwh) renewable energy credit. The five-acre site was expected to generate 2,181,000 kwh per year and has performed to expectations, generating 2,255,031 kwh in 2013. With our most recent energy projects the array now produces 41% of the power on campus and peak demand has been reduced by 25%.
• July and August 2011: 1,500 feet of underground hot and cold water utility pipe replaced with flexible, pre-insulated RhinoFLEX pipe. The project produced energy savings through reduced delta T losses, chemical losses, and prevented almost 4 million gallons of water from leaking through underground pipe.
• November 2012: $1.9 million dollar project changed six classroom buildings on the West Campus from traditional hot water reheat with R-22 rooftop refrigerant to newer units that use refrigerant to heat and cool the spaces and comply with the environmental protection agency. The project was completed on time and on budget during the winter months of the academic year. The project saved energy and prevented the exterior excavation and major demolition problems always associated with trying to perform this work while occupied.
• July 2013: Completion of the installation of 681 LED fixture retrofits in all outdoor lighting, gyms, natatorium, and dining halls. The project yielded almost $40,000 in rebates from PNM.

These energy efforts have provided a hedge against the recent price increases in power costs. The Academy’s 2014 costs are $265,000 less than they were ten years ago in 2004 and an estimated $400,000 less per year than they would be now if the school had done nothing since 2002. A recent comparison of greenhouse gas emissions from 2003 to 2014 shows a reduction of almost 83% in CO₂ per year.