USDA, USDE, NCSU & GreenTech Solutions Partner to Reduce Boat Facility’s Carbon Footprint
The Jarrett Bay Boatworks management team, with support from GreenTech Solutions, worked with state & federal programs to achieve nearly 60% annual reduction in the emission of harmful gases. In September 2014, Jarrett Bay’s VP of Administration & Development, Ed Stack and Dan Carraway, Director of HR & Safety began the energy consumption overhaul at Jarrett Bay with an assessment by NC State University’s Dr. Stephen Terry and his team of graduate students. Dr. Terry, NCSU’s Industrial Assessment Center Director, leads a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Manufacturing providing energy conservation and cost-reduction assessments for small to medium-sized manufacturers, while also educating the next generation of energy managers.
The NCSU initial assessment expressed a need to change out the existing metal halide fixtures with T5 and T8 fluorescent lights. With this proposal in hand, Stack and Carraway consulted with GreenTech Solutions – specialists in applying cutting-edge technologies that reduce energy expenses while improving work environments.
Following a thorough walk-through of the Jarrett Bay facilities in Fall 2014, discussions continued with GreenTech and by February 2015 an energy savings report depicted a potential reduction in energy use of 59%. This remarkable number would become attainable by taking NCSU’s recommendation one step further and replacing 375 metal halide fixtures with LED lighting.
A project of this scope is commonly cost-prohibitive, but thanks to a partnership with the Carteret-Craven Electrical Cooperative in the form of a rebate, in conjunction with a grant from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), plus the realized annual energy savings, the payback for the complete project is roughly three years.
Once the grant was approved from the USDA in May 2015, GreenTech moved to finalize all of the details for the project in June with commencement in August. With this project now complete, the Jarrett Bay facilities can proudly boast they have an annual reduction of nearly 58% of harmful gases including carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. Not only do the new LED lights provide a generous energy savings, they also produce greater levels of lighting throughout the facility as compared to the former metal halide fixtures – providing a brighter and safer place for nearly 200 Jarrett Bay employees.
