Project Overview

Tribe/Awardee:
Forest County Potawatomi Community

Location:
Milwaukee, WI

Project Title:
Replacement of Lighting Fixtures with Energy Efficient Lights at the Bingo Casino Parking Facility

Type of Application:
Deployment

DOE Grant Number:
DE-EE0002500

Project Amounts:
DOE: $459,000
Awardee: $459,000
Total: $918,000

Project Status:
Complete

Project Period of Performance:
Start: June 2010
End: December 2010

Summary

The Forest County Potawatomi Community ("FCPC" or "Tribe") owns a six-story parking facility that consists of two separate buildings located on fee land adjacent to its Milwaukee Bingo Casino operation. In addition, the casino has a valet parking facility located underground below the casino building. The parking facility and valet parking currently contain 1,720 205-Watt metal halide-type lights installed in the ceilings of each of the five covered floors and the ceiling of the valet parking facility. The tribe will replace all the interior lighting fixtures in its parking facility and valet parking located at the casino with state-of-the-art, energy efficient 55-watt light emitting diode (LED) lights. This will result in a 73% reduction in the energy use for lighting this facility and a 51% reduction in overall energy use of the facility.

Project Description

Background

The tribe is engaged in a tribal-wide initiative to reduce its energy consumption by implementing cost-effective energy efficiency measures at its major occupied facilities. Starting in 2007, the FCPC conducted energy audits of the tribe's major occupied facilities and initiated a facility-wide energy efficiency program of which this parking facility and valet parking project is a component. In 2008, the parking facility had the third largest electricity use of all occupied tribal facilities, with a total annual demand of 4,326,679 kWh.

Replacing lighting fixtures in the parking facility and valet parking facility with energy efficient lights is consistent with the long-term energy vision of the tribe. The tribe's energy vision is to ultimately reduce its carbon footprint to zero and to be a leader in energy strategy, thereby helping to enable others to reduce their carbon footprints. The tribe is working in three areas to achieve this:

  1. Reducing its energy footprint by increasing energy efficiency in its tribal-owned facilities
  2. Working to become energy self-sufficient by using renewable energy sources to the extent possible
  3. Investing in larger renewable energy development projects that can both benefit the tribe and the state/country.

The parking facility and valet parking facility are wholly owned by the tribe and contains 1,600 lighting fixtures that will be replaced. Lighting is the primary electrical demand for the parking facility, with six elevators located at the north end of the structure comprising the only other significant demand. The valet parking is located underground, under the casino, and includes 120 lighting fixtures. The lighting fixtures are attached to the ceiling of the valet parking facility.

The tribe has identified lighting in its parking facility and valet parking facility as a key component project in its facility-wide energy efficiency plan.

Project Objectives

The objective of this project is to reduce the electricity demand in the parking facility and the casino by upgrading the lighting. The proposed LED lighting is 73% more energy efficient than the existing fixtures. For safety reasons, the parking facility and valet parking 1,720 205-Watt metal halide-type lights operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. In 2008, the total annual electrical load for the parking facility from lighting alone was over 3,088,776 kilowatt hours. Lighting is the primary electrical demand for the parking facility, with six elevators located at the north end of the structure comprising the only other significant demand.

This energy efficient lighting project will be self-sustaining due to the projected savings in energy and maintenance costs, and the lighting fixtures come with a 10-year warranty that will ensure replacement of defective fixtures. The energy-efficiency goals of the parking facility and valet parking project fit directly with the FCPC cultural and social goals. As is discussed above, energy efficiency is a key component of the tribe's overall energy goal. The tribe's energy vision—to lower its energy use and ultimately to reduce its carbon footprint to zero—derives from its cultural belief that it is the tribe's duty to protect the environment. Incorporating energy efficient measures into major tribal facilities is one major component of achieving this vision.

Scope

This project is conceptually simple. The tribe will replace its existing lighting at the parking facility and valet parking facility with energy-efficient lighting thereby reducing its annual energy use at these facilities by an estimated 51%. The LED lighting fixtures that are proposed are manufactured in southeast Wisconsin and, while state-of-the-art, are of a standard and proven design. Beyond conventionally trained electricians, no specialized skills or procedures are required to complete this project. Therefore, the detailed description and design required, although complete, is relatively brief.

Energy efficient LED light fixtures will be installed throughout the parking facility, which consists of two six-story buildings located on fee land adjacent to the Tribe's Milwaukee Casino operation. The valet parking is located underground under the casino. These facilities currently contain 1,720, 205-Watt Metal Halide-type lights installed in the ceilings of each of the five covered floors and the ceiling of the valet parking. It is these fixtures that the tribe proposes to replace. The tribe proposes to replace these existing light fixtures throughout the facility with energy efficient 55-watt LED lights.

Aside from initial startup activities such as ordering the lighting fixtures and mobilizing to the job site, the project is divided into ten major component activities. Each activity corresponds to removal of existing lighting fixtures and installation of new fixtures throughout a single floor of each of the two parking facility buildings—five floors, east and west sides, and replacement of the fixtures in the valet parking facility. Completion of each floor, and the valet parking facility, comprises a measurable project milestone by which the overall project progress will be tracked and reported. The final activity will be owner training and commissioning. All activities will conducted by an electrical contractor.

Project Location

The six-story parking facility consists of two separate buildings. The buildings are located on fee land adjacent to tribe's Milwaukee Bingo Casino at 1721 West Canal Street, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Project Status

This project is complete. For details, see the final report, Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and Exhibit C.

The project was competitively selected under the tribal energy program's fiscal year 2009 funding opportunity announcement, "Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Deployment in Indian Country," and started in June 2010.

The November 2009, October 2010, and November 2011 project status reports provide more information.