August 31, 2018

Diocese receives rebate from Columbia Gas for energy efficiency efforts

REGIONAL
Story and photo by Rebecca Drake

Pictured (left to right) Russell Sprague, director of buildings and grounds for the Springfield Diocese; William Towsley, engineering consultant; and Jennifer Ferrante, energy efficiency project manager for Columbia Gas of Massachusetts.

SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield Diocese recently received a rebate check for $8,000 from Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, thanks to the efforts of Russell Sprague, diocesan director of buildings and grounds. The rebate was for a boiler replacement at the former Pope Francis High School site on Springfield Street in Chicopee.

The check was presented to Sprague and engineering consultant William Towsley, of Towsley Associates, by Jennifer Ferrante, energy efficiency project manager for Columbia Gas.

Sprague told iObserve that he has worked to replace old boilers with more energy efficient ones throughout the diocese.

“By replacing the failed boiler with high efficiency new ones we consume less natural gas, which saves the diocese or parish on its overall energy cost and reduces our carbon footprint,” Sprague said. “Whenever feasible we specify high efficiency boilers for our replacement projects. For example, St Elizabeth of Hungary in North Adams, St Peter’s in Great Barrington, the pastoral center, St. Michael’s Academy, St Thomas the Apostle Parish in West Springfield, to name a few, have all put in high efficiency boilers when the time came to replace the old ones. St. Cecilia Parish is just starting looking at their heating and cooling systems with conservation in mind.”

In an interview with iObserve, Ferrante commended the diocese’s energy-saving efforts.

“It gives us a great sense of accomplishment to help customers such as the diocese lower their operating expenses by choosing to improve their facilities with cost effective energy efficient solutions,” Ferrante said. “In the case of the Diocese of Springfield’s boiler replacement project, Bill Towsley of Towsley Associates worked with the diocese to select high efficiency equipment when the existing boilers failed.

“The investment in this equipment is an easy choice because Columbia Gas, as one of the program administrators of the Mass Save collaborative, provides rebates to reduce the cost difference between standard efficiency and high-efficiency equipment,” she said.
Ferrante also noted, “When a business customer can reduce their operating expenses and operate their energy systems more efficiently, they are then able to use the money saved towards other goals such as growing their business.”

Sprague cited another way the diocese reduces its energy costs: “We also look to reduce our electrical energy consumption by doing utility-sponsored energy audits, replacing lighting fixtures with the new energy efficient ones where feasible.”