SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2008 SECTION 4: Resource Use and Operations

Energy Use and Efficiency

We have made significant efforts over the years to reduce the energy use of our buildings.  Each employee works in an open work area that fosters transparency and communication throughout the organization.  In some of our buildings, we have a daylight control system where lights within the building dim as more daylight enters the building.  Employees are also able to control how much lighting is allowed in the building by the use of skylights and high-efficiency T-8 lamps and ballasts. 

In 2008, we completed several new projects to further enhance the energy efficiency of our spaces.  In November, groSolar installed a four kw solar power system at our Colchester headquarters.  The system is used to power a two-car Toyota Prius fleet that we converted into plug-in hybrids.  Another exciting project was our new Westminster service center, which was specifically designed to be as sustainable as possible.  Here are a few highlights from the project, which transformed an abandoned building into a high-performing facility:

• In partnership with groSolar, we installed a 308-panel, ground-mounted, 58 kw solar system to supply two-thirds of the annual electricity consumption of the building. This installation ties for the 2^nd largest solar power system in Vermont.
• In our first full year of operations we used 13% less energy than the projected 100,000 kwh of electricity, even with 46% more square footage.
• The building has lighting control timers and occupancy sensors (which reduces the energy demand by 30,000 kw per year), low-flow water fixtures, Energy Star windows, and a specially designed heat reflecting roof.
• Local building materials were used, existing bricks were crushed and reused for fill, and 50% of the deconstructed materials were reused locally or recycled.
• Low VOC paint, carpet, and adhesives were used, as well as recycled rubber flooring.
• The low-maintenance landscaping relies on native species, and the lampposts outside are fitted with outlets for plug-in electric vehicles.

Overall, we consider the Westminster project to be a tangible manifestation of our commitment to full lifecycle sustainability.  We encourage our peer companies in Vermont to prioritize energy efficiency and alternative energy as well.  One example of this is our partnership with Hannaford, National Life and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to install solar panels on their buildings.

The following figure compares our overall energy use from 2000 to 2008. The variations are largely due to changes in use of some of the buildings, such as consolidating operations and then later adding tenants to the same meter.  The decrease since 2004 is a direct result of energy efficiency initiatives in our building operations. Our most significant success was implementing an HVAC cooling system in our server rooms to take advantage of outdoor cold air in the winter. Also, our energy efficient building in Westminster doubled our operating space but reduced our electrical load by 25% (30,000 kWh) from the previous Bellows Falls location.

 

 

EN3, EN4

Please note that the totals for Westminster (prior to 2008), Montpelier, and Wells River include energy consumed by additional tenants in the buildings.  We have determined that it is not economically advantageous to segregate our electricity usage from other tenants.

Water Use and Impacts

EN8

Due to inaccurate metering, the Colchester service center water usage has been significantly underreported for several years. The 2007 data for Colchester was an estimate, but the 2008 data is accurate.  Also, water meters are now installed in all locations (which helps to explain the rise in water use in 2008).  The Colchester building utilizes a closed-loop system, which uses a radiator to cool and a highly efficient boiler to heat.  We also installed automatic shut-offs on low flow fixtures in the rest rooms of each office to conserve water.

The only facility where stormwater may be impacted by operations is at our Colchester location, where we practice good housekeeping and continuous maintenance to ensure the proper operation of our stormwater collection system.

For more information on environmental impacts to water from power generation (including hydro power), see our 2006 and 2007 Sustainability Reports.

 

 

Transportation

Green Mountain Power has recognized the potential impact of vehicle use on the environment, as well as the link between vehicle fuel use and climate change. We have taken the following steps to minimize transportation impacts while not sacrificing our commitment to reliability and customer service.  EN29

• Fuel Efficiency. In the last three years we've improved fuel mileage over 25% through the purchase of smaller vehicles and hybrids, and two conversions of hybrids to plug-in hybrid vehicles.
• Hybrids. Green Mountain Power currently owns nine hybrid vehicles (Toyota Priuses and Ford Escapes) which comprise 8% of Green Mountain Power's fleet of vehicles. Each hybrid vehicle has an improvement of greater than 15 miles per gallon over the vehicle it replaced. Early in 2009, we put our first hybrid bucket truck into service. The truck lowers fuel usage up to 60%, lowers idling time by 87% (which saves fuel and reduces noise) and lowers maintenance costs due to reduced use of the diesel engine.
• Biodiesel. Since 2005, we have required that a 20% biodiesel mix (B20) be used in our larger vehicles in the summer and a 5% biodiesel mix (B5) be used in the winter. All vehicles that fuel up at our Colchester and Montpelier facilities run on biodiesel.
• Non-Idling Policy. Our policy strongly discourages field employees from idling vehicles, unless it's necessary during winter months for safety reasons.
• Carpooling. While carpooling is encouraged and some employees do take advantage of it, recent employee feedback indicated that very few take advantage of it due to different schedules and other reasons. Like other companies, we continue to struggle with how to make carpooling attractive, particularly during times when gas prices seem "reasonable."
• Vehicle Performance and Service Life. We follow a regular preventive maintenance schedule for all equipment. We purchase high quality oil and filters to extend service intervals, which minimizes resource use while maximizing vehicle performance. We also fill vehicle tires with nitrogen to improve fuel efficiency and extend tire life.

The following transportation fuel use and efficiency data is based on 106 vehicles from all seven districts (Colchester, Vergennes, Montpelier, Wells River, White River Junction, Westminster and Wilmington).  EN4

 

 

Resource and Raw Use (EN1)

Green Mountain Power maintains approximately 50,000 items in its existing inventory. Items are organized by approximately 50 stock categories (i.e., transformers, reclosers, etc.). The following data represents usage of some of these items from 2005-2008:

Green Mountain Power recently began an initiative to improve the street lights that it owns and rents to municipalities in Vermont.  Many of the street lights are older and contain mercury vapor.  We are slowly switching out the older lights and replacing them with more energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly lights.  The new lights also help reduce light pollution.

We rent our space in Wells River and have no way to capture the portion of fuel that we use.

Purchasing Policy

While Green Mountain Power does not have a formal Sustainable Purchasing Policy, there are aspects of its existing purchasing policy that encourage purchase of sustainable goods and goods/services from companies with strong environmental records.  The following is an excerpt from Green Mountain Power's purchasing policy:

"Preference should be given to...suppliers who are proven to be environmentally friendly in their daily work practices and attributes, maximize Post Consumer Recycled content, minimize toxicity and packaging, or have any other environmentally preferable attributes, without sacrificing price, quality, and delivery requirements."

Our purchasing policy also specifies that priority should be given to "suppliers located near the company operation."  Green Mountain Power's main distributor (60-70% of supplies) is located locally, in White River Junction.  EC6

Our stakeholders have raised the question of whether we belong to the Electric Utility Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance.  While it is currently not cost effective for us to belong to this alliance, we have been following the group's work to help us in our efforts to improve, and we will consider participation in the future.

Wastes and Recycling

The following waste data represents the total for all company locations. EN22

 

[3] The old penstock was creosote laden wood and leached petroleum into adjacent soils.  We conducted a detailed investigation prior to conducting the removal and determined the areas of soil impact.  These soils were removed prior to installation of the new penstock and were transported to ESMI in Loudon, NH for treatment.  All of this work was done in conjunction and accordance with the State of VT Waste Management Division. ESMI contains the largest treatment facility for contaminated soils in the Northeast. ESMI utilizes a treatment process called thermal desorption - a proven technology that permanently destroys hydrocarbons and other organic contaminates. The impacted soil was thermally treated with any remaining soil structure re-used or recycled into a variety of construction materials for commercial or industrial fill applications.  Certificates of destruction are available for the soil removed from the penstock project.  Therefore, 34,967 pounds of non-hazardous waste were generated by GMP that were not a part of the penstock replacement.  This quantity is significantly lower then previous years and may be attributable to disposal of fewer out-of-service transformers.

EN24

Releases (EN23)

In 2008, there was 123.55 gallons of petroleum products spilled, including mineral oil, hydraulic oil and diesel fuel.  The majority of the spills were mineral oil from leaking or damaged transformers and hydraulic leaks from line and bucket trucks.  Hydraulic hose failures are common for the utility industry as the hoses used on our trucks must be non-conductive electrically.  Therefore, we can not use steel braided or enforced hydraulic hoses as this would pose significant danger to lineworkers.  Hoses are inspected regularly, but pinhole leaks manifest without warning.  We use a soy-based hydraulic fluid in all of our new trucks and are switching to this in our current trucks as they are serviced. 

Pine Street Barge Canal

Green Mountain Power was among those named by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1982 as responsible for the contamination of the Pine Street Barge Canal in Burlington, VT. In 1998, EPA directed responsible parties to pay $4.3 million for site remediation activities that involved containing canal contamination with an underwater cap, restoration of wetlands areas at the site, and a long-term maintenance and monitoring program.  For more information, see the U.S. EPA fact sheet.

Recently, a small amount of coal tar was found to be leaking from the heavy cap of sand that was designed to keep the contaminants away from Lake Champlain.  This situation is being monitored, and a $2.6 million remediation plan is under development.  Work is expected to begin on the remediation plan in Summer 2009, and monitoring will continue.

 

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SECTION 1: PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW                                         

SECTION 2: OUR MATERIAL ISSUES                                                

SECTION 3: THE SUSTAINABILITY OF OUR POWER PROFILE                     

SECTION 4: RESOURCE USE AND OPERATIONS                            

SECTION 5: EMPLOYER                                                                      

SECTION 6: CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITY                                               

SECTION 7: FINANCIAL                                                                

SECTION 8: COMPANY FACTS & FIGURES                                       

SECTION 9:  GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE (GRI) SUMMARY