Michigan City, Ind. – The Michigan City Sanitary District (District) partnered with Energy Systems Group (ESG), a leading energy services provider, to design and implement a $1.8 million energy conservation project at the wastewater treatment plant that includes infrastructure improvements and energy efficiency measures. The project will result in economic and environmental benefits for the City and its ratepayers with guaranteed savings of over $164,000 annually over the term of the contract. ESG also applied for and secured a $190,988.80 incentive through Northern Indiana Public Service Company’s (NIPSCO) energy efficiency program administered by Lockheed Martin Energy, marking the largest incentive awarded by the NIPSCO program this year.
As part of a citywide initiative to evaluate ways to deliver government services more efficiently, the wastewater plant improvements include new aeration equipment (two turbo blowers) and ultra-high efficiency light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. The District continued its efficiency improvements by calibrating the wastewater aeration system to operate using just one of its two high-efficiency blowers to save power further and enhance reliability by providing redundancy into this mission-critical function for the wastewater treatment process. The equipment installation completed in July 2018 addresses the single largest energy user within the City infrastructure.
This plan replaces worn out equipment and continues the District’s goal of cost-effectively maintaining the infrastructure while being good stewards of the environment particularly its natural resource of Lake Michigan. Based on the total annual reduction in electrical consumption estimated at 2,696 megawatt-hours per year, the District estimates an annual reduction in air pollution emissions of approximately 8,900 pounds of sulfur dioxide, 5,600 pounds of nitrogen oxide, and 5 million pounds of carbon dioxide.
“The Michigan City Sanitary District wishes to thank NIPSCO for the incentive award and ESG and its sub-contractors who assisted with the installation including DLZ, Marquis Electric, and Thieneman Construction,” said Michael Kuss, General Manager.
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The Michigan City Sanitary District provides refuse disposal and wastewater reclamation for the City of Michigan City and nearby communities serving a population of over 31,000. The wastewater treatment plant, built in 1935, has been in continuous services since then. For more information, please contact Michael Kuss, General Manager at 219-874-7799 or visit http://www.emichigancity.com/cityhall/departments/sanitary.
