NEWS RELEASE
TOWNSHIP OF ORO-MEDONTE
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ORO-MEDONTE – Over the past decade Oro-Medonte has focused on reducing its environmental footprint by better understanding and managing its energy consumption.
The Township has invested in the efficiency of its assets to reduce energy and lifecycle costs, and to minimize environmental impacts. A few examples include:
- The construction of the Huronia Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic using insulated concrete form walls and high efficiency mechanical systems;
- LED lighting in facilities;
- The conversion of heating systems from electric to gas;
- The upgrade of well pumps at all 11 Township water pumping stations;
- Deployment of technology to better enable work to be conducted in the field, minimizing fuel costs and occupied facility related energy costs;
- The Oro-Medonte Community Arena renovation project which included high efficiency building systems;
- Natural Gas fueled Olympia Arena Ice-Resurfacer;
- The Oro-Medonte Administration Centre mechanical system replacement and building automation system.
In November 2015, Oro-Medonte Council approved working with RealTerm Energy/LAS to convert the Township’s 799 streetlights to LED technology, targeted for implementation by spring 2016.
The conversion would yield an estimated reduction of 252,000 kWh, a net reduction of 63% of current consumption, and a proportionate reduction in energy costs.
“Energy Management involves both equipment and people. We continue to focus on understanding our consumption and how we can leverage new technology and practices to reduce our consumption, environmental footprint and energy costs,” said Shawn Binns, Director, Recreation and Community Services. “The streetlight conversion project is another step in this direction,” he said.
The total project would result in approximate annual savings of $68,000. With a total estimated cost of $444,000, the simple payback on the investment would be 6.5 years.
The estimated lifecycle of LED streetlights is 100,000 hours or 23.1 years which would translate to about $759,000 in savings over this lifecycle in contrast to high pressure sodium lighting.
“This investment is a continuation of a number of ongoing measures that the Township has been capitalizing on to protect the environment,” said Mayor Harry Hughes. “Another ongoing example that has improved the quality of the air and water has been the Township’s goal to pave gravel roads. This has resulted in the reduction of oil used to counteract the dust, reducing airborne particles which has been a leading cause of increased levels of phosphorus and lead in Lake Simcoe and Bass Lake,” he said.
Oro-Medonte is a diverse and beautiful community with a central location in Ontario.
A community of 20,078 full-time residents, Oro-Medonte covers a land area of 61,000 hectares, stretching from the northern border of Barrie and Lake Simcoe to the southern fringes of Orillia and north to Tay and Severn Townships.
For more information, please visit our website www.oro-medonte.ca.
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