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District reports $51,000 in electric-bill savings; geothermal and IRA incentives cited for future funding
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Summary
Waunakee officials said energy-management provider Data Wrangler has produced roughly $51,000 in electric-bill savings year-over-year and that federal incentives tied to the Inflation Reduction Act could generate multi-million-dollar reimbursements for the district’s middle-school geothermal and solar work.
At the Oct. 6 budget committee meeting Waunakee officials reported energy-management work and grants have produced measurable savings and that federal incentives tied to geothermal and solar installations may yield large reimbursements.
Rebecca (staff member) said the district has seen about $51,000 in electric-bill savings measured month-to-month compared with the prior year and that a utility-bill-verified savings payment of between $20,000 and $40,000 could be returned to the district through a state grant program. The district also received a $10,000 implementation grant from Waunakee Utilities/Wisconsin Public Power and is using Data Wrangler’s monitoring tools.
Rebecca said the district recently received an IRS reimbursement check for its Heritage project (a check sent in the mail) and that combined solar and geothermal incentives tied to the middle school could generate a larger IRS payment "probably north of $4,000,000" when the middle-school system is fully in service.
Why it matters: ongoing energy savings reduce operating costs and free up funds for classrooms. Federal incentives available under recent legislation (examples cited in presentation) can materially offset the capital cost of systems such as geothermal and solar when projects meet eligibility and timing requirements.
Details and caveats
Staff said Data Wrangler’s verified electric-bill savings to date total about $51,000 and that estimated utility-bill-verified savings eligible for grant payment could be $20,000–$40,000. Rebecca noted the district paid a monthly fee to the vendor and asked whether spending “the $2,500” was producing net value; staff said yes and offered to ask Data Wrangler for an adjusted calculation distinguishing savings from new, more-efficient building hardware.
Staff also reviewed federal timing constraints for solar incentives described by a nonprofit called Undaunted: to meet certain Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives a project generally must commence construction by Dec. 31, 2025 and be placed in service by mid-2026. Rebecca said the middle-school solar and geothermal work is on track: “The system is there. It's functional,” and district staff are discussing moving utility billing into the district’s name so the district receives credit.
Staff emphasized geothermal incentives remain more secure: “Ground source heat pumps, otherwise known as geothermal systems. No issues with geothermal at all. That part of the incentives has not been touched.” The presentation included examples of other districts’ IRA-related reimbursements: Salt Lake City Schools ($1.2 million), Seattle Public Schools ($7.9 million), Springfield, Mo. ($4.1 million) and Hart County, Ky. ($793,000).
Next steps
Staff will continue to monitor Data Wrangler savings, follow up on adjusted savings calculations (to isolate effects of building replacements) and pursue additional grants and possible pilot work on natural-gas monitoring. The district will track when solar systems are fully active so it can claim available incentives.
Ending
Committee members called the reported savings “impressive” but asked staff to monitor second-year results and to return with more detailed reconciled calculations of savings and grant payments.
