River Falls: Small Town, Big Savings

What if you could lower your energy bill by 6% less than what it was ten years ago? 

In the wake of the Coronavirus, we'll all be looking for ways to save, but the city of River Falls, Wisconsin has paved the way with its push towards renewable energy, efficiency, and conservation. For over a decade, Mike Noreen, their first Conservation and Efficiency Coordinator, has spear-headed many creative ideas and innovations simply by doing the math.

A humble, self-described “numbers guy,” Noreen “quantifies the numbers”—meaning he looks for ways to cut energy costs and save money throughout the rural farming community and college town. Because River Falls’ Utilities is a non-profit that’s owned and governed by the city, “We run a rate of return from 5 to 8.5%.”

These savings came from big changes made over the last ten years, with Noreen trail-blazing the way. To keep him focused, the nature of his work revolves around two key factors:

-         For conservation, how can River Falls use less power?

-         For efficiency, how is power being used? Or how could they use it more efficiently?

Noreen checks into everything from streetlights to the Wastewater Treatment Plant, the police station to the new Solar Garden. Anything that uses energy within the city is fair game, his goal simply being to save energy and cut costs.

For residents, he helps with incentive programs, resources, and information through the city's non-profit. Even little things count, like the Bike Share Program.

For bigger organizations (who may not have considered some efficiency measures) Noreen offers options like municipal bonds or the Energy Efficiency Prescriptive Grant from the state.

“So I find money. I find numbers. I quantify savings and then try to help them find where the money is… If they tell me, ‘We want to do this…,’ I go over all of that and say, ‘Okay, sign up here.’ Upfront costs will be different on each project, so that’s what I help them with.”

Noreen’s hard work and attention to details is paying off. According to the American Public Works Association, “On January 1, 2020, the City of River Falls became the first municipality in the state of Wisconsin to power all city buildings and streetlights using 100% renewable energy.”[i]

From Streetlights to Renewable Energy

Noreen began his work with the streetlights, calling for a switch to LED lighting in order to cut costs. From there, he encouraged the addition of a Variable Frequency Drive to the city’s pumps and wells, along with installing the new Solar Garden. He’s also done the math to show long-term savings with big changes happening at the Wastewater Treatment Plant

Not everyone has been onboard with these changes, and Noreen received initial pushback.

“Some thought it was a liberal thing. But we’ve reduced the cost by 13% through conservation efficiency, and then Renewable Energy costs are 7%. So we’re still 6% lower than when we started ten years ago.”

Noreen admits that it took a lot of work to get the residents on board—about 5 or 6 months of meetings. At the local level, there’s usually not a huge turnout, but the night Noreen presented, it was a packed house. Because River Falls is both rural and a college town, his audience included local farmers, residents, and those in academia, but Noreen enjoys the blend of perspectives.

“My argument was that using less electricity is good for the environment. We want to be able to take action. We could say we want to do something in 2050, but we’re doers around here. So we can do this right now, and because of what we’ve done, we’ve saved all these costs in preparation for getting to this point.”

Noreen supported his points by showing residents both costs and savings, as well as environmental benefits. “Really by doing all this, we’re saving over 160,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Just within the city of River Falls.”

 Variable Frequency Drive

By adding a Variable Frequency Drive, or VFD, to all the wells and pumps owned by the city, River Falls has taken specific steps to save money and become more energy efficient. “The VFDs slow the motors down yet get the same amount of work done… A VFD allows the motor to run at a slower pace but not by the energy that goes into it. We’ve put in probably 60 so far on individual motors.”

I admitted that I don’t know much about motors, so I asked him to explain this more.

“When motors start, they ramp up, and that spike is really expensive. The VFD lowers that spike for the start-up costs of running the machine… When a customer or business spikes, utilities have to provide an infrastructure that can stay there at any time. And it needs to stay up there. So we really have to beef up the system.

“Now if we lower that, we don’t have to charge the customer the cost to beef it up. (If it’s already up, we have to recoup those costs.) That spike is expensive, so with the VFD, we don’t have to account for the spike. That cost is on your utility bill. You pay for electricity, which is how much you pay over the course of a month.”

Noreen compared the savings to the gauges in a car.

“The price you pay over the course of a month—that’s the odometer—and the demand is the speedometer. So if you just blaze out of the starting gates, your speedometer goes up to 100. You have to pay for that 100 miles you’ve driven, but if you drive 100 miles at a normal speed, that’s going to save you. Simplified, that’s how the utilities work. So if we could reduce the speed, that’s good, and that’s what the VFDs do.”

Point taken. My lead foot costs me more money.

The VFD is a great solution to prevent the expensive spike and maintain consistency in the motor, saving money in the long run. 

Wastewater Treatment Plant

Noreen also looks for ways to improve efficiency while saving money, and he played a role in changed processes at the outdated Wastewater Treatment Plant simply by looking at numbers.

Noreen describes the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant as “an antiquated system.” Under the old way, it “pushes all the sludge through; then they take the solids and truck it to Ellsworth. They squish it down through a centrifuge, and it comes out in a cake that they then sell and spread. Then they bring the water back here…”

“That’s a super inefficient way of doing it, so this year we’re adding a new system. It isn’t cheap; it’ll cost $4 million. It’s called Fine Bubble Aeration, and it’s just bubbles coming up from the bottom with big motors. These aerators in the system will save a ton of money.” They won’t have to spend money trucking that sludge to Ellsworth anymore.

Noreen’s role in this big change was to answer questions from the plant, like, “How much money will they save through energy costs over the course of a year? And what would the payback be to invest in this modern but expensive system?” By offering exact numbers, the plant can make a more informed decision to move forward.

So far, Noreen’s numbers are proving to be very useful in decision making; the new aeration system, expected to be completed later this year, is waiting final approvals.

Cost Savings

Noreen isn’t just focused on larger projects; he’s studied to save hidden costs in overlooked places. Because of his attention to the details, the city has upgraded the air handling units and air conditioners in the library, public works garage, police station, and Wastewater Treatment Plant.

They’ve also added air-sealing, which means they don’t have to heat up the place as much. “Air sealing is simple and cheap.”

In addition, he’s worked through the numbers to go green at the Public Safety Building, ambulance, and Glen Park Pool. There’s the old saying, “Leave no stone unturned,” and that’s what Noreen has done. From the larger public buildings to individual homes, details matter.

Noreen continually looks for ways to save both energy and expenses.

Weather Conservation Program

To address real-world concerns for the residents of River Falls, Noreen promotes a couple different savings options:

-         The Home Performance Test is a blower door test. Noreen explained that this “sucks the air out of your house, and then they measure how often over the course of an hour, under given pressure, the air would exchange through your house—to see where air may be coming in.” In cold winter months, it’s important to test for air leaks, especially around windows and doors. 

-         The Combustion Safety Test can be done “to make sure your gases from the furnace and hot water heater are leaving instead of spilling out onto the floor, which happens a lot. You can’t see it, but it’s carbon monoxide.”

When the city initially offered this second test, the cost was $250, and no one wanted it. Noreen changed that by dropping the cost to $50 for residents with the city covering the rest. Today the cost for the test has risen to $400, but Noreen has kept the fee at $50 for residents with the city still paying the difference. Since then, they’ve had over 350 customers request the test.

“Now people are engaged and want to look at their house for leaks. It’s a way to get in and be useful to people. It’s how I justify my job... If I can get twice as much back as what I put in and present the savings to City Council, that’s good. We’re saving money, and money’s coming back to the city.

“By doing the whole performance program, it’s cheaper. Now people have an incentive from the state to weatherize their houses, and we have better housing stock. We have warmer people, and the money comes back. So there are a lot of wins.”

But Noreen’s humility makes him a true leader in his field as he deflects the praise back to the residents. In an article from the American Public Works Association, he said, “As a city and Utility our goal was to lead by example… We asked our customers to use less through conservation, to upgrade to greater energy efficiency and to then switch from fossil fuels to renewables. To their credit, they did it. The community utilized our energy efficiency programs and reduced their energy use but also really embraced our renewable energy programs. So really the community led us.”[ii]

The changes may have been slow at first in River Falls, but they’re starting to pick up with more of the residents onboard and eager for change.

Renewable River Falls

The city made these energy changes fun with their Renewable River Falls launch fest, River Dazzle. The event, which took place on November 29, 2019, included highlights like a chili crawl and winter parade, live ice carving, horse-drawn wagon rides, carolers, and a free family-friendly matinee. But the center of attraction was in Veteran’s Park—a large tree filled with green LED lights, connected to a giant on/off switch for residents to use. This educational site will remain in place for the rest of the winter.

The event gave Noreen the opportunity to share that River Falls would be the first municipality to use 100% renewable energy, starting January 1 of this year.

One of the ways they were able to do this is by buying “Green Blocks.” According to the City of River Falls website, these are “units of 300 kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy—a mix of solar, wind, and biogas.”[iii] The energy isn’t just for the city to use, though. Residents can also purchase these blocks to save on their energy bill.

 Accountability

With all of Noreen’s creative ideas and attention to details, it might appear that Noreen is a lone maverick—he's certainly an innovative thinker who carved out a much-needed job as the city’s first Conservation and Efficiency Coordinator. Noreen has to be self-driven, but I was curious about accountability.

“So who do you report to?”

“The Utility Advisory Board. It’s kind of a toothless board, but I still have to reply to them. They used to regulate the utilities, but the city decided eight years ago to self-regulate. So now it’s the Utility Advisory Board and City Council, and the buck stops with the mayor.

“Utilities are profitable, so the city wants some of the action. The Advisory Board and City Council report to the state. Then I have to report to the Public Services Commission.

“I provide them with numbers of what I’m doing—savings and costs—so the investor owns are regulated by the Public Service Commission. So do the non-profits and municipals, but the co-ops are not. They can do whatever they want really.”

Gaining Momentum

Noreen’s informed measures to conserve energy are being recognized throughout both the state and nation. In 2016, the River Falls Municipal Utilities won the Award for Continued Excellence, presented by Demonstration of Energy and Efficiency Developments (DEED).

As Sue Kelly, CEO and president of the American Public Power Association, stated in DEED Digest, “For 17 years, River Falls has been active in APPA’s DEED program… It has worked diligently to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency, and it has been quick to share results with other public power utilities.”[iv] But River Falls is gaining attention beyond the awards.

Nationally, the small town has gained recognition, ranking #5 for green power participation with a participation rate of 10 percent and #7 on the list for green power sales with a sales rate of 3.95 percent.[v]

Everything counts, including the city's work with Habitat for Humanity in making energy efficient homes, like the one pictured below.

All that’s in addition to being the first city in the state for using 100% renewable energy.

Not bad at all for a small college town and farming community.

Hope for Creation

Noreen’s interest in renewable energy extends beyond his day job to an organization called Hope for Creation, a loose-knit organization of seven churches in River Falls. It draws a couple hundred people and is organized into three branches: systemic, religious, and practical.

Noreen’s involvement with the group is separate from his job as Conservation and Efficiency Coordinator, although his work experience brings a vital perspective to the group. He’s motivated to volunteer with non-profits because he knows change happens “when people get involved for religious or moral reasons—that’s what got me involved in Hope for Creation.”

So Noreen now heads up the practical branch as the city representative.

“It all started when I read the Pope’s encyclical, Care for a Common Home, which is an environmental book. I’m not Catholic, but I read the book… I go to the United Church of Christ, and I make that clear,” he said.

The group focuses on making changes within the city. “We had a larger meeting (almost ten years ago) where the city, the university, and the school district signed a sustainability proclamation that said we’ll take sustainability into account in our decision making.”

Today the three entities report on their progress, and from there, residents share what they think is important. Topics cover policies, composting, plastic reduction, fuel, food, and more.

“Hope for Creation is just the container, but it’s really jumped to the top of the environmental movers and shakers in town because they’re doing stuff. They’re getting people together and talking, so my job as a practical person is to help them save energy.”

He explained how the United Church of Christ found some grants to put solar panels on their roof, saving about a third of their energy costs. The Catholic church followed suit with about 28% of their power coming from the solar panels. The Lutheran church is now in the process of getting their own solar panels.

“So it’s kind of keeping up with the Joneses.” Normally the Joneses reference is negative, but in a context where everyone is saving energy and money—maybe that’s not such a bad thing…

“From an energy perspective,” Noreen said, “It’s continually to keep in mind: Why should people take action? Maybe it’s to save money on a utilities bill for some; maybe it’s less pollution; maybe it’s a social pressure—they’re doing it, so maybe I better be doing it…”

As I closed the interview, I said to Noreen, “I think what you’re doing here is huge really. You’re making people aware. They’ll begin to care when it affects their wallets. Once they see the incentive, and that it’s not just a liberal idea, but a way to keep their hard-earned dollars in their pocket, it’s going to change.”

As Noreen said earlier, there are a lot of different reasons why people go green and look for ways to save energy. A lot of us want to be good stewards with our resources, and we care about a place for future generations. True, it’s hard to think long-term when we’re dealing with day-to-day stresses, but little changes can make a big difference.

This college town and farming community is on the cutting edge of renewable energy. What’s more, the city models a place of possibilities. Imagine what could happen in other communities when different perspectives work together to improve the quality of life for all.

[i] “River Fall, WI Powers all City Buildings with 100% Renewable Energy.” American Public Works Association. www.apwa.net. 2019. Access date: March 17, 2020.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] “Renewable River Falls.” City of River Falls, Wisconsin. www.rfcity.org. Access date: March 17, 2020.

[iv] Medeiros McEnroe, Mary. “Deed Project Spotlight.” American Public Power Association: DEED Digest. Vol. 34, No. 2. Spring 2016. P. 3.

[v] Ciampoli, Paul. “Public Power Utilities Make NREL Top 10 Lists for Green Pricing Programs.” American Public Power Association. www.publicpower.org. 4 June 2018. 17 Mar 2020.