Save Water Save Energy

The Wy’East Resource Conservation & Development Council (RC&D) has teamed with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and local utilities to help agricultural operations and rural small businesses save money on energy costs. Wy’East’s service area includes Deschutes, Crook, Jefferson, Wasco, Sherman, and Hood River Counties.

The Save Water Save Energy program, a pilot program sponsored by BPA, was developed to help make energy improvements convenient and affordable. End users eligible for the program include irrigators, dairies, wineries, greenhouse nurseries, livestock operations, on-farm processors, golf courses, etc.

BPA and northwest public utilities recognize that energy efficiency is the premier low-cost source of new energy and are working together to bring energy savings to the agriculture industry. By saving energy, agricultural customers may be able to reduce costs, increase operation uniformity, decrease the amount of water/energy used, and potentially increase yield.

Wy’East staff can help make energy improvements convenient – and affordable. Using a “one-stop” start-to-finish approach, Wy’East will work with businesses to:

• Assess needs through interviews and on-site visits
• Work with engineers, contractors, and suppliers to develop energy audits, feasibility studies, and proposals
• Develop a project outline that identifies proposed energy improvements and installation timelines
• Develop a project budget
• Review bids from contractors and suppliers
• Evaluate cost effectiveness of energy saving improvements and make recommendations
• In addition to BPA and Utility incentives, Wy’East will leverage all state and federal program incentives, credits, and assistance such as:

USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service – Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

• Provide guidance during the construction/implementation phase

Potential savings are realized through on-site energy efficiency improvements such as irrigation hardware upgrades, irrigation pumping improvements, scientific irrigation scheduling, lighting upgrades, variable frequency drives, HVAC, refrigeration, insulation, greenhouse wall and roof panels, controlled atmosphere rooms, heat recovery, and much more.

To date, Central Electric Coop, Northern Wasco County PUD, and Wasco Electric Coop are a few of the local electric utilities promoting the program to local agricultural operations and rural small businesses.

Here are a few examples of energy efficiency projects:

Irrigation

Scientific Irrigation Scheduling (SIS): Knowing exactly when and how much to irrigate crops using a system that monitors weather and soil moisture data. In addition to reducing energy cost for pumping water, SIS conserves water and reduces fertilizer use and run off. The system takes into account the specific type of crop planted when determining when (and how much) to irrigate. Annual energy and water savings can be more than 10%.

Pump Motors: Upgrading a pump to a NEMA Premium Efficiency unit can substantially reduce energy consumption while improving irrigating efficiency.

Irrigation System Upgrades: Replacement or installation of high-efficiency irrigation equipment qualifies for incentives/rebates. Nozzles, brass sprinklers, gaskets, regulators, drop tubes and multi trajectory sprays are simple change-outs. Repairs of leaking hand lines, wheel lines and portable mainlines also qualify for incentives/rebates.

**Variable Frequency Drives: In some applications Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) save energy and increase the performance and life span of industrial grade motors. VFD’s are like dimmers for motors, providing soft starts and slow ramp-up speeds that extend the life of the motor. VFD applications are only for turbine irrigation pumps, centrifugal pumps are not included in this program.

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