January 21, 2005—The San Diego Regional Energy Office (SDREO) and San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce (SDRCC) recently announced the winners of the first San Diego “Excellence in Energy” (SANDEE) Awards.
Among those recognized were the County of San Diego, University of California San Diego (UCSD), City of Chula Vista, Tom Blair (City of San Diego), Qualcomm and the IBEW/NECA San Diego Electrical Training Trust.
The SANDEE Awards are presented annually to outstanding business, government and institutional projects, persons or activities that save energy and/or contribute to the success of the “San Diego Regional Energy Strategy 2030” in the areas of transportation, infrastructure and buildings. The awards program is a joint project between SDREO and SDRCC and is cosponsored by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and NRG Energy.
2004 San Diego Excellence in Energy—Award Winners
- Project of the Year (Government)—County of San Diego
The County of San Diego took top honors in this category for its North County and South Bay Regional Centers by adopting mechanical and solar power technologies to reduce the operating costs of two sites as part of one capital improvement project. The central chiller plants were converted to an all variable speed system controlled by the “Hartman Loop” technology, which lowered plant electricity usage by 45%. With the addition of 200 kW of photovoltaic systems installed between both facilities — the net result was over 2 million kWh/yr and $250,000/yr in savings. This equates to a 4.3 year payback, 24% ROI and $2.69 million life cycle savings. Due to the success of this project, the County has since implemented variable speed technology at six additional facilities. - Project of the Year (Institution)—University of California San Diego
UCSD retrofitted two laboratory research buildings with variable frequency drives and rebalanced them to newer campus standards with lower air change requirements. These two modifications achieved 1.74 million kWh, 114,000 therms and $314,000 in annual energy savings—a very fast, 2.6 year payback. - Outstanding Organization Achievement (Business)—Qualcomm Incorporated
Qualcomm Incorporated was recognized for their consistent and ongoing commitment to energy efficiency, product and project performance, regional advocacy, and long-term infrastructure planning and implementation — which directly support the goals of the San Diego Regional Energy Strategy 2030.
