Federal stimulus dollars will come to St. Peters residents this spring in the form of compact fluorescent light bulbs, nitrogen for car tires and other ways to save energy.

City officials plan to use a $512,800 stimulus grant from the Department of Energy to pay for light bulbs, a station that will allow residents to switch the air in their tires for nitrogen, energy efficiency improvements in city buildings and free thermostats for some residents.

The city spent about $37,000 to buy 30,000 bulbs with the grant money, said Ron Darling, the city’s health and environmental services manager. He said AmerenUE gave the city an additional 40,000 bulbs, and Cuivre River Electric Cooperative donated 2,700. Volunteers will go door-to-door in April to deliver packages of three light bulbs to each home in the city. The bulbs will be distributed in bags that residents can use for recyclables, Darling said.

Alderman Tommy Roberts, 3rd Ward, said the idea is to use the stimulus money to save money for residents and the city. If the city divided the grant money and passed it out, he said, each resident would receive $9.70. Instead, he said, the residents can save $150 during the lifetime of the three bulbs.

“My vision is that we keep reinvesting the dollars that we’ve invested from this grant into saving energy in the city of St. Peters,” Roberts said.

The program’s costs are:

— $228,500 to retrofit city buildings with energy-saving measures suggested by a recent energy audit. City Hall, the Rec-Plex and Recycle City are targeted for energy efficiency upgrades such as new light bulbs, ballast and energy management controls.

— $120,300 for household education, including the distribution of the CFL light bulbs and 600 programmable thermostats. Darling said he would announce the details of the thermostat program later.

— $120,000 to buy and install solar lighting in the parking lots, marina, general store and pavilions at the new Lakeside 370 Park.

— $43,000 for a semi-self service tire air station where residents can exchange the air in their tires for nitrogen. Darling said nitrogen helps tires stay properly inflated, improving gas mileage. St. Peters expects to have its version running in May.

Darling said residents will get first crack at an expected surplus of about 8,000 bulbs on March 27, when they can exchange burned-out bulbs for new ones at the Home and Garden show at St. Peters City Hall. Residents will receive one CFL for each burned-out incandescent bulb and two CFLs for each burned-out CFL, Darling said. The maximum will be 10 per household as long as supplies last.

Then, on April 10 and 17, volunteers will deliver the three-bulb packages to residents, Darling said.

Roberts said he hoped the city could use the money it saves from energy efficiency upgrades to help make solar and wind energy.

“Eventually, you will see a power plant here in St. Peters,” Roberts said. “Wherever it’s acceptable, we will have solar, wind and things like that.”

Source: St. Louis Post Dispatch

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Tags: energy efficiency, Federal Stimulus package, green jobs

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