Contact:
Pete Simon of Prairie Athletic Club at 608-837-4646, Paul Hermanson at Sun Prairie Water & Light at 608-837-5500 or Steve Heins of Orion Energy Services at 920-892-5800
Energy Efficient Lighting Project Saves 4.3 Million Kilowatt Hours
August 22, 2005. Sun Prairie, WI. The Prairie Athletic Club, a world-class, multi-sport facility with almost 16,000 members, has received Orion’s Environmental Stewardship Award for an energy-efficient lighting project in its 200,000 square foot facility located in Sun Prairie, WI.
The Prairie Athletic Club is saving more than 216,230 kilowatts hours (kWh) annually and more than 4.3 million kWh over the sustainable lifetime of the lighting fixtures. The project was sold and managed by Chris Lauten of Orion Energy Systems using products supplied by Orion Energy Services of Plymouth, Wisconsin.
“The sustainable savings of electrical consumption by the Prairie Athletic Club should serve as a blueprint for other Wisconsin companies and sports venues,” stated Neal Verfuerth, President of Orion Energy Systems. “By presenting the Prairie Athletic Club with the Environmental Stewardship Award, Orion wanted to highlight the fact that this energy efficient lighting project was good for everyone: It was good for business, good for the environment and better quality of light for all of the members.”
In addition, the Prairie Athletic Club will take enough power off the electrical grid to provide enough electricity to power more than 22 homes, according to the EPA formula.
“We are really trying our best to help improve our customers energy efficiency, because there are real benefits to be gained,” stated Paul Hermanson, Energy Services Representative for Sun Prairie Water and Light. “Projects like this one at Prairie Athletic Club are worth it both for the customer and us. We are pleased to be a part of it.”
The environmental impact of Prairie Athletic Club’s energy-efficient lighting project will decrease air pollution and environmental damage over the lifetime of Orion’s fixture, the Illuminator, by 4,216 tons of carbon dioxide, 1,150 tons of carbon, 18.3 tons of sulfur dioxide and 8.8 tons of nitrous oxides. This is the equivalent of saving 357,817 gallons of gas, removing 613 cars from the road or saving 8,519 barrels of oil.
“In the highly competitive world of athletic clubs, the Orion Illuminator lighting system has been approved for all athletic facilities including NCAA basketball,” stated Chris Lauten of Orion.. “This project was an intensely collaborative effort between PAC’s Pete Simon and myself, whereby we developed a set of customized solutions that saves more than 54% in electricity cost and increases light levels more than 75% overall.”
“Once I saw the numbers between the lighting savings and the expected reduction in air-conditioning costs, I knew this project was a win-win proposition. To a person, our staff of 350 people and all of our members have noticed the great improvement in our lighting and they have appreciated the positive environmental impact of this energy efficient lighting project.”said Pete Simon, an owner of the Prairie Athletic Club. “Thanks to a rebate provided by the Sun Prairie Utility, we will have a total payback in under 30 months.”
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About Prairie Athletic Club
Wisconsin’s largest single recreational fitness club with over 200,000 sq. feet of facilities. With more than 28 years of experience serving our members needs, we strive to provide outstanding customer service and programs for our members of all ages. For more information, contact Pete Simon at 608-837-4646 or http://www.prairieathletic.com
Sun Prairie Water & Light Environmental Commitment
Sun Prairie Water & Light is committed to being an environmentally responsible utility. We are dedicated to improving global and local quality of life through active environmental stewardship. This is the higher calling of public power – the seamless connection between providing a public service and making the community a better place to live and work.
Public power utilities have demonstrated a strong, long-standing commitment to environmental protection. We are committed to minimizing the impact of our business on the environment with technologies and processes that are socially responsible, scientifically based and economically sound. We will continue to build constructive partnerships with the federal administration, the state regulatory commission, organizations that promote environmental protection and most importantly, the community that we serve.
We believe in maintaining community, preserving environment, improving quality of life and protecting physical and human resources. Our environmental commitment links a healthy environment, energy efficiency and public safety. We encourage conservation, recycling and energy efficiency programs that promote clean air and water and reduce landfill waste.
Sun Prairie Water & Light is the locally owned and operated electric and water utility – serving more than 7,500 customers – in beautiful Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. For more information, contact Paul Hermanson at (608) 837-5500 ·or visit the Web site at http://www.spwl.net.
About Orion
Orion Energy Systems has been innovating in the energy and lighting business since 1996. Neal Verfuerth, President of Orion Energy Systems, received two of Wisconsin’s most prestigious awards, Ernst & Young’s 2004 Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year and WMC’s Manufacturer of the Year 2004 Grand Award Recently, Orion has Received the 2004 Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air Award given by the Wisconsin DNR. In addition, the company won the 2002 Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Grand Award in the Emerging Growth category, given by the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Association, the Wisconsin Business Friend of the Environment Award, and was chosen as a “Success Story” for the 2002 Governor’s Summit on Capital. Orion’s innovative Illuminator, an energy-efficient lighting platform for industrial applications, has been awarded a series of 12 patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Additionally, it has applied for numerous other patents relating to metering and control technologies for lighting.
Orion is an energy services company (ESCO), which manufactures and markets energy efficient lighting solutions for the school, gymnasium, manufacturing, warehousing, and commercial markets. Orion provides capacity displacement solutions for supply side management, transmission management, and demand side management for the electricity industry. For more information, please contact Stephen Heins, Vice President of Corporate Communications, Orion Energy Systems, sheins@oriones.com; 920-892-9340, ext. 226 or visit the web site at www.oriones.com.
