BY CHARLIE FRAGO
Times Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG — It was a big promise made by Mayor Rick Kriseman more than two years ago: Get the Sunshine City to eventually run on 100 percent renewable energy.
In a few months, the city will take small but tangible steps in that direction thanks to a $780,000 program designed to make city buildings more energy efficient.
That list won't include any of the flashy, big-ticket items the city has already touted for the future, like the solar panels on the roof of the new police headquarters under construction.
Instead, think small improvements: "heat pipes" that transfer heat; new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; and getting those swinging doors in recreation centers to let less AC escape every time someone walks through.
Small potatoes? For Sharon Wright, the city's sustainability and resiliency manager, those projects are laying the necessary groundwork.
"You don't want to put solar panels on an inefficient building," she said. "It doesn't make any sense."
TAMPA BAY TIMES: ST. PETERSBURG SUSTAINABILITY
St. Petersburg City Council signs off on solar panels for new police headquarters (April 27, 2017)
St. Petersburg's solar ordinance goes into cold storage (Sept. 1, 2017)
And with strong signals coming from Washington D.C .that federal money for "green" initiatives could soon become scarce, the city decided to start with modest initiatives that it hopes will eventually pay for themselves through energy savings.
The City Council approved funding last month. Within six months, the first project should be underway: adding a geothermal heat pump system and filter to the 25-meter pool at the North Shore Aquatic Center.
Also on the list: adding "heat pipes" to the HVAC system at the main library, which can save energy by removing moisture and humidity from the air.
Earlier this year, University of South Florida graduate students and Duke Energy officials helped the city conduct a preliminary energy audit of city facilities, identifying about $28 million in potential projects.
City officials modeled their program after a similar one in Orlando, saying it has saved that city millions in recent years.
Wright presented the list to council members in August, asking for the ability issue bonds for the project, but they balked.
Steve Kornell, along with Ed Montanari, voted against the bond issue, saying he thought the city was already bonding too much. The city has bonded hundreds of millions of dollars to fix its ailing sewer system in the last few years.
"That makes me really leery about bonding anything else," Kornell said. "We have to make choices."
With bonding off the table, the city recast the program in a smaller scope, but Kriseman said it will still serve as an example.
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Explore all your options"We're kind of ground zero for climate change," the mayor said. "You can't ask the community to do things to become more sustainable if the city isn't doing them."
Contact Charlie Frago at cfrago@tampabay.com or (727)893-8459. Follow@CharlieFrago.