摘要
In 2005, an innovative program was formed between the local government and The University of Toledo to help improve environmental and economic conditions in Lucas County, Ohio, USA by providing no cost energy assessments to various types of organizations. Unlike the Industrial Assessment Centers, which focus on manufacturing and are funded by the Federal Government, this program demonstrates that successful partnerships can be established at the local government level to aid various types of organizations in energy conservation and cost reduction. Since 2005, the program completed ten energy assessments and identified over 143,000 kwh and 103,000 kg of CO2 for reduction. Additionally, over $12,000 has been identified as annual cost savings for Lucas County businesses. The purpose of this paper is to provide a complete overview and framework of this program so that other institutions may learn from it and adopt similar programs at the local level. A focus of this paper is a discussion of a case study that details the process and results of a typical energy assessment conducted through the project and comparison to similar programs in the US.
