Sustainable Energy Recommendations for Eau Claire County

Motivated by a goal to be carbon neutral by 2050, Eau Claire County facilities. asked EAP students Andrew Zaiser, Shirley Obih, and Owen Jonas to investigate and provide recommendations for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in county buildings that would reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The project focused on the county courthouse and jail, which together make up roughly 91% of the county government’s electricity usage. 

Gathering background information such as the layout of the two spaces, solutions that have already been tried, and project limitations, the EAP students brainstormed a variety of potential solutions to improve the buildings’ sustainability. These were then evaluated and sorted into viable and nonviable solutions, the latter of which included hydroelectric energy, battery storage, and wind energy.

The students found that the most appropriate solutions for the buildings’ layout and structure, the county’s budget, and the needs of the inhabitants were solar PV systems and ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs). Air-source heat pumps were ruled out due to low winter temperatures, but this may not always be the case with rising temperatures caused by climate change. With these solutions in mind, they determined the county’s net-zero goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 is both fiscally and technologically attainable. Most reasonable scenarios indicate that these goals could be met using rooftop solar and GSHPs, though additional solar on the parking lot could be used if the regional grid doesn’t decarbonize as quickly as projected.