For further Information contact:
Dave Cary, Communication Specialist
Orion Energy Systems
(920) 892-5804
dcary@oriones.com
Joel Tauschek
City Clerk,
Sheboygan Falls WI
(920) 467-7900
The City of Sheboygan Falls has been chosen to receive Orion’s environmental stewardship award for its recent annual 9,340 kWh lighting power reduction — better than 55 percent — that came as a result of a change in lighting that was part of renovation work at the Sheboygan Falls Municipal Auditorium.
Environmentally, a power reduction this size means that some nine tons of carbon dioxide, two tons of carbon and 1.4 tons of sulfur dioxide — as well as other greenhouse gases — will not be released into the atmosphere each year. It is also the air-scrubbing equivalent of a two-acre forest or removing two cars from the road and is the conservation equivalent of saving 771 gallons of gas each year. The move also cut the auditorium’s electric bill for lighting by over 50 percent, as well.
“We’re honored to receive this award and glad to do our part,” said City Clerk Joel Tauschek, who spearheaded the lighting change project after noticing similar new lighting at the YMCA next door. “Conservation and energy efficiency are more vital now than ever,” he continued, “and we know this not just because the city uses energy, but because the city also operates an electric utility.”
Orion president Neal Verfuerth explained the award. “By presenting Sheboygan Falls with our Environmental Stewardship Award, Orion wants to highlight the fact that this energy efficient lighting project was good for everyone — good for the city’s bottom line, good for auditorium users, good for the environment, good for our energy future.”
“Our analysts tell me that if all commercial and industrial energy users in the country changed to energy-efficient lighting the power reduction would equal the output of sixty typical power plants.”
“That would be almost like a gift of that much electricity,” Verfuerth said. “Only it would come without having to fund and build sixty powerplants, without having to expand the power grid’s capacity or buy any new equipment for it — and without having to buy and consume the fuel needed by the plants.”
“Saving on this scale is why we feel energy efficiency can and will play a vital role in our lives in the years ahead and why we promote it. We congratulate Sheboygan Falls for playing their part in it.”
Previously, the Municipal Auditorium plant had been lit by 35 huge 500-watt incandescent lamps — and the 500W bulbs had actually replaced the system’s original huge 1,000W bulbs one-for-one when these became unavailable in the 1980s, Tauschek said. They were replaced with 36 Orion Illuminator ® fluorescent fixtures, also on a one-for-one basis.
The building receives substantial use. In a typical year, at least 45 separate events are booked there, ranging from community group fundraisers to events held by the Fire Department, Camp Fire, Jaycees, Red Cross and United Football League to company employee events, hobby shows and private and home-business parties. The entire lighting system is used for an estimated 700 hours per year, while four fixtures that provide access lighting are on some 2860 hours per year.
With a 2002 population of 6,825, Sheboygan Falls is located in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, between the eastern hub of Sheboygan and western hub of Plymouth, ten minutes from Lake Michigan. The city is known as both a residential and manufacturing area, especially in home furnishings and home improvement services. The area has a strong orientation toward home and family. Sheboygan Falls features strong community-improvement organizations such as Chamber-Main Street, as well as a low tax rate.
Located in Plymouth, WI, Orion Energy Systems has been innovating in the energy and lighting business since 1996. Orion’s innovative Illuminator ® fixture, an energy-efficient lighting platform for industrial applications, has been awarded a series of 14 patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Additionally, Orion has applied for numerous other patents related to metering and control technologies for lighting.
Neal Verfuerth, Orion President, received one of Wisconsin’s most prestigious awards, the Ernst & Young 2004 Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year.
Orion provides capacity displacement solutions for supply side management, transmission management, and demand side management for the electricity industry. Visit the Orion website at http://www.oriones.com/.
