Oberlin Municipal Light and Power System Green Energy 

OMLPS is a joint owner of the Belleville Hydro Plant, a 42 megawatt hydro facility on the Ohio River in Belleville, Ohio.  OMLPS owns 1.3 megawatts of generation in this plant.  This production supplies 7.3% of our annual power requirements.

 OMLPS purchases additional hydroelectric power through the New York Power Authority. This purchase of hydroelectric power supplies 2.3% of our annual power requirements.

 OMLPS purchases renewable power from Energy Developments, Inc. (EDI).  EDI owns and operates generators fueled by methane gas that is produced by the BFI landfill in neighboring New Russia Township. OMLPS worked with EDI to connect the methane generators to the power grid through our 69,000-volt transmission system.  Our share of this generation provides 4.9% of our annual power supply. 

OMLPS is a joint owner in a four-wind turbine generation project in Bowling Green, Ohio, which totals 7.2 megawatts.  This ownership supplies .4% of our annual power requirements.

These four green power sources supply 14.9% of our annual power requirements.

 OMLPS sells the green power to Oberlin College at a premium of $2 a MW.  This premium funds a separate Sustainability Energy Reserve Fund, which will be used for environmental projects such as wind power research, tree planting and energy conservation programs.

 Energy Conservation

 OMLPS offers free heat loss inspections for our residential and small commercial customers.  This inspection includes a blower door test and thermal scan of the building or home with our infrared camera.  We provide computer-generated results of the blower door test and suggestions of how to reduce air infiltration.  The infrared camera allows us to find areas where insulation needs to be improved.

 OMLPS sells energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.  These bulbs are purchased in bulk quantities and then sold to customers at the lower bulk cost.

 OMLPS worked with Prospect Elementary School in 2002 to obtain a state grant to purchase the equipment for installing a 1kW photovoltaic solar array at the school.  OMLPS also provided the planning and installation resources for the school.  The result was a no cost installation of this 1kW photovoltaic array for the school.  The purpose of this installation was twofold. The first reason was to provide a training tool to help educate students about alternate energy sources.  Secondly, it was a way to help our public schools reduce their energy costs.

 OMLPS, through our Key Accounts Program and AMP-Ohio secured three (3) seven thousand dollar Department of Energy grants for three of our large commercial customers.  These grants provided the funds for an industrial assessment for each of these customers.  These assessments identified the potential savings in the tens of thousands of dollars for these customers. 

Energy Education

 OMLPS purchased an Energy Bike in 2002 to educate students in the local schools.  The bike has a variety of experiments, which teach about energy production and energy efficiency. Our Energy Services Division provides demonstrations with the bike in local schools and at various community events throughout the year.