CCOG Helps Union County Implement Cutting-Edge Energy Finance Plan

In providing technical assistance to 70 local governments in nine North Carolina Piedmont counties, the Centralina Council of Governments (CCOG) relies on CALOR for energy consulting services. For one CCOG member, Union County, NC, CALOR’s role became crucially important when $751,000 in stimulus funding was offered by the US Department of Energy. Short on staff at a the time, Union County turned to CCOG and Calor for help in completing the necessary applications and in collaborating on engineering strategies.

In the role of CCOG’s energy lead, Calor coordinated the efforts of the Union County , CCOG and engineering support to assess the local building portfolio for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The team created an innovative Revolving Energy Fund (REVREF), launching a new way to indefinitely extend the impact of the stimulus funds.

The Union County Commission approved the REVREF, re-apportioning the fund annually based on actual energy savings to help finance the next round of energy projects. Projects currently underway will save an estimated 3.0 million KWh per year, generating annual savings of $210,000.