Dane County Awards Contract for Road Map to Cut Carbon Emissions to Zero by 2030

May 05, 2022
Ariana Vruwink, 608-267-8823

New Comprehensive Energy Assessment Will Identify Projects to Further Reduce Climate Change Impacts

Today, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced that HGA, a national engineering design firm with offices in Middleton, will be awarded the contract to conduct the Comprehensive Energy Assessment of Dane County government facilities. The assessment will identify energy efficiency, renewable energy, electrification, and water conservation opportunities in Dane County facilities supporting County Executive Parisi’s goal that all county facilities and fleet be carbon neutral by 2030.

“Dane County has been a national leader combating climate change by reducing energy use and using renewable energy in our facilities for more than a decade,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi.  “This assessment will identify the next set of opportunities to green our facilities, giving us a roadmap to our 2030 net-zero carbon goal.”

HGA will conduct on-site audits and energy modeling of county facilities and identify and prioritize energy efficiency, renewable energy, water efficiency and electrification technologies to further reduce energy use and expenditures at the facilities.

“An up-front investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy will pay for itself again and again in lower energy bills. I am excited to see what technologies and strategies emerge from this analysis to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Parisi.

The Comprehensive Energy Assessment is a $300,000 initiative introduced by County Executive Parisi in his 2022 budget and implemented by the Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change. The effort will benchmark energy use in county facilities, model potential upgrades that save energy and reduce emissions, and rank upgrade opportunities based on various savings criteria.

Dane County’s facilities include the City County Building, Courthouse and Public Safety Building in downtown Madison as well as other office buildings, multiple highway department garages, the medical examiner’s office, the Dane County Airport, the Alliant Energy Center and the Henry Vilas Zoo. Currently, Dane County gets about 45% of its electricity from renewable energy sources, with a plan of achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2024.

“Dane County has a unique mix of facilities—from an airport to a zoo—and we are on track to demonstrate how all of those facilities can be part of a carbon neutral future,” said Parisi.