Nevada energy users invest in conservation measures

Kevin Ferguson

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2001 | 11:02 a.m.

The Riviera hotel-casino is taking a financial hit today in order to save money tomorrow.

The hotel-casino, one of the oldest on the Las Vegas Strip, is investing $1.2 million in a series of electrical projects that are as basic as replacing 30 cent light bulbs throughout the property with more expensive but longer-lasting energy-efficient bulbs.

As simple as that sounds, it can save a bundle, said Bob Balzar, Nevada Power Co.'s director of energy efficiency and conservation. Nevada Power pays rebates to companies that take steps to reduce energy consumption.

Since April, Nevada Power has paid $113,000 in rebates to 30 commercial and government customers -- ranging from hotels to grocery stores to schools to office buildings -- that have made these energy-efficient adjustments.

"The savings so far in the lighting program in Southern Nevada are equal to the energy consumption of 700 homes in Las Vegas for a year," Balzar said.

Energy costs have more than doubled for many Nevada companies in the past two years as demand has outstripped supply in the West.

Riviera Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Westerman said his company was paying 4.5 cents per kilowatt in early 1999 -- prior to the West's energy crisis -- and now pays 9.6 cents per kilowatt.

"It's very important for us to reduce our energy consumption, because (our energy costs) are a higher percentage of our EBIDTA (cash flow) than other Strip properties," Westerman said.

Energy experts say lights take up some 30 percent to 40 percent of a home's or office building's energy consumption, while air conditioners and heaters consume another large chunk, about 35 percent.

The Riviera's energy conservation project also includes replacing thermostats and lights with systems that are powered by motion sensors. When a person leaves a room, the sensor triggers the lights to turn off and the thermostat to rise.

The Clark County School District has also started installing these motion sensors in portable classrooms.

Nevada Power's Balzar said many businesses are setting the thermostat sensors to 78 degrees when people are in the room and 84 degrees when the room is vacant.

The Riviera began installing these sensors in July.

"We'll be past the peak summer months when they're all installed, so we won't get the biggest bang for our buck until next summer," Westerman said.

The Riviera, which opened in 1954, has 2,200 rooms. Westerman said he expects it will take about two years for the company to recoup the costs of the $1.2 million investment through cost savings from energy efficiency efforts.

Albertson's grocery stores have cut their energy consumption in half in the past year by switching to lower wattage -- but more powerful -- light bulbs as well as keeping lights off in vacant break rooms and coolers, said Miguel Gutierrez, Albertson's spokesman.

"We're just trying to keep up with the rising energy costs," Gutierrez said. "The costs have increased five-times compared to (the rate) we were paying in early 1999."

Clark County school officials are experimenting with a number of energy efficiency programs, ranging from solar energy systems to alternative building designs for new schools. Skylights, for example, can be shaded from the sun.

Wendell Williams Elementary School, a new school scheduled to replace Madison Elementary on J Street, will be illuminated by vertical skylights. The glass portion faces north so the sun rarely shines directly into the rooms, district energy manager Dale Scott said.

"The initial cost (of these types of schools) are a little higher, but the payback is great in the long-run," Scott said. "The school will be there for 50 years. But what we have to balance it with is whether it will prevent us from (having the money) to construct another school."

The school district is also researching the possibility of creating "zero-energy schools," which would use solar energy.

The first Clark County zero-energy school is at least three years away, said Dale Scheidenman, CCSD director of planning and engineering.