County receives funds to conduct energy audits

WAILUKU - The U.S. Department of Energy has given Maui County $50,000 to conduct energy audits on 12 county facilities.

The first of a dozen buildings to undergo the audit by Energy Industries LLC of Honolulu will be the Kahului Fire Station, according to a county news release issued Friday. The money to pay for the 90-day contract is coming from the federal stimulus package, or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The other facilities that will be audited for energy efficiency are the fire stations in Wailuku, Paia, Lahaina, Makawao, Kihei, Napili, Kula and Wailea. The Kaunoa and West Maui senior centers and the Mitchell Pauole Community Center on Molokai also will undergo the studies meant to find ways to save the county energy costs and potentially outfit the facilities with renewable energy systems in the future, such as wind turbines and photovoltaic panels.

"The results of the energy audit will take us one step closer to achieving significant cost savings when the recommendations are applied to our many county buildings," said Mayor Charmaine Tavares. "This is another opportunity that we're pursuing as we continue to look at ways to reduce expenses."

County Council Chairman Danny Mateo and others have criticized the mayor's office for not acting sooner to acquire some of the millions of federal dollars and low-interest loans available from the Obama administration to purchase green-energy systems for government buildings.

Energy Industries has offices along the West Coast as well as one on Maui. The company specializes in reducing energy costs for its clients by both recommending conservation measures and advice on how to buy and install self-sustaining power sources, according to a county news release.