The City of Medford has taken a major step forward in improving the energy efficiency and long-term performance of its regional infrastructure—this time with targeted projects at its Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility (RWTF). With technical guidance from Energy Trust of Oregon, along with over $35,000 in incentives, Medford implemented improvements that enhance system performance, reduce operational costs and strengthen environmental outcomes.
As a critical part of the city’s public works, the wastewater treatment facility consumes a substantial amount of energy. Recognizing the opportunity to make impactful changes, city leaders worked with Energy Trust through its Strategic Energy Management (SEM) offering for qualifying businesses of all sectors, including public utilities—to identify, track and implement both behavioral and capital energy-saving strategies.
Through SEM, Medford’s facilities staff received hands-on support to evaluate energy use with a focus on identifying low and no-cost opportunities for savings, and support in prioritizing all types of projects including if larger investments are needed. One of the first outcomes was a refined understanding of where energy was being consumed, allowing the city to target specific systems for upgrades.
According to Johnny Leavy, City of Medford Wastewater Reclamation Division Manager and Executive Sponsor for Medford’s SEM engagement, this data-driven process provided the city with “the tools to be proactive rather than reactive.
With assistance from Energy Trust, we conducted a treasure hunt, and we identified several projects that could be implemented immediately, some that would be longer term capital investments.”
The more immediate and impactful project was changing the seasonal operational protocol for processing units. Taking units offline when processing needs are lower, like summertime when wastewater flows to the plant are lower, turned out not to impact treatment quality but provides great energy savings. Another project the facility completed was bringing their 745-kilowatt co-generator back online – which had suffered catastrophic mechanical failure – to provide 40-60% of their energy needs. The partnership with Energy Trust also helped embed an energy-conscious mindset among staff, resulting in small day-to-day operational changes that contributed to big savings.
Medford now saves almost $24,000 annually on electricity costs, reducing strain on the grid and helping meet its broader energy efficiency goals.
With ongoing support from Energy Trust – currently working with the design team on energy upgrades for a future plant expansion – Medford is well positioned to pursue deeper improvements to benefit taxpayers with meaningful cost savings.
Key project results include:
- Received $35,039 in Energy Trust incentives
- $23,884 in annual energy savings
- 300,392 kWh/year in electricity savings
- Empowered and engaged employees to participate and lead energy savings efforts
Medford offers a model for other facilities navigating the twin challenges of aging infrastructure and climate resilience. With a focused, collaborative approach to energy management, municipalities and industrial facilities can unlock savings, improve operations and deliver long-term value to the community.
Learn more about the benefits of Energy Trust’s Industrial SEM offering.
You can also reach our team directly to answer any questions you have. Give us a call at 1.866.202.0576 or email at production@energytrust.org.