Developers power up energy program

Plan will retrofit St. Charles homes with green tech

Friday, Feb. 26, 2010

If enthusiasm could produce electricity the developers of St. Charles could fire up enough energy to power communities and businesses across the country.

Officials of American Community Properties Trust are using their excitement for green technology to help them push full speed ahead with a new retrofit program that the company is already working on in St. Charles as part of the "Green City" initiative that was launched in November.

The program's goal is to retrofit every rental apartment and existing home and townhouse in the planned community with green technology that will cut back on the use of electricity and water, said Alan Shearer, the company's CEO.

The initiative will also prompt developers to incorporate green technology into the design of future neighborhoods in St. Charles.

The 40-year-old community encompasses 9,100 acres and has nine schools, eight neighborhood centers and a multitude of businesses. There are still 4,000 acres to develop in St. Charles that will hold 11,000 housing units and 5 million square feet of commercial space, said Craig Renner, the company's vice president of community relations.

There are a little more than 12,000 housing units in St. Charles now, including about 2,500 rental apartments, Shearer said, adding that the retrofit program will not be successful unless homeowners and businesses buy into it. Most of the retrofits will cost little or nothing, he said, adding that ACPT will slowly retrofit rental apartments in the community.

"Most of the initiatives that we're taking on right now are through a partnership with SMECO," he said. "Energy saving and green initiatives don't have to cost a lot of money and the payback can be very quick and simple."

"We're going to work with SMECO to go to each neighborhood association in St. Charles and tell them about a wide range of programs that SMECO has available to make houses and businesses more energy efficient," Renner said. "It's important that we work with our residents to maintain the value of their homes. It's a good investment for the future."

"The meetings will provide SMECO with a forum to help promote some of our programs," said Tom Dennison, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative spokesman. "It's a great idea. We appreciate the opportunity to work with ACPT and the community to help save energy."

Shearer said there are a number of ways to retrofit homes and businesses, including replacing regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs that use less energy, installing energy-efficient windows and switching old appliances with those that have an Energy Star rating.

Incorporating programs to make homes and businesses more energy efficient is in accordance with Gov. Martin O'Malley's EmPOWER Maryland Energy Efficiency Act of 2008 that calls for a 15 percent reduction in energy use by 2015, Dennison said. The legislation gives the Maryland Public Service Commission the authority to approve energy conservation programs, he said.

SMECO must participate in the program and working with the St. Charles community and its "Green City" initiative is a great way to jumpstart it in Charles County, Dennison said.

"We're partnering with ACPT on the ‘Green City' concept because we believe it's a good idea, and we're happy to participate in it," he said.

The electric cooperative is providing discounts on energy-efficient lights bulbs, rebates for energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, clothes washers and refrigerators, Dennison said. In addition, the company is offering rebates for recycling old refrigerators and freezers and is offering free home energy checkups to help homeowners lower their electrical use, he said.

The efficiency programs will cost most residential costumers less than $1 on their electric bills, Dennison said. The fee, which will help SMECO recoup the cost of the programs, was approved by the PSC.

The EmPOWER Maryland mandated programs expand conservation initiatives that the power company already has in place, Dennison said, including CoolSentry that provides customers with a free programmable thermostat and a rebate in exchange for allowing SMECO to remotely raise or lower the thermostat during times where electricity is in high demand.

"The thermostat is a great tool because it really helps people save energy," Dennison said. "We really encourage our customers to get one. We've already installed more than 11,000 thermostats in our service territory."

The developers of St. Charles have already installed the thermostats in 184 apartments in the Glen Eagles complex off Billingsley Road, Renner said. Officials of ACPT are also discussing the merits of installing smart meters on new housing units as they become available. The meters are programmed to help customers figure out ways that they can cut down on energy costs in their homes or businesses.

"We're very anxious to implement the program," Dennison said. "We would like to install 1,000 smart meters in our service area to provide real-time information on electricity costs for our customers. They're the wave of the future for the industry."

Shearer said he hopes that businesses and homeowners in St. Charles will jump on the green retrofit program to save energy costs.

"It's not an all-or-nothing program," he said. "There are a number of different aspects to it. Some people will pick up less expensive or free options while others will take a much more proactive approach. We're not looking to force people to do anything. We hope to present a program that is well-understood and rational. There's a shopping list of things that homeowners and businesses can take advantage of that will have an impact on their energy costs."

"Finding ways to save on your electric bill just makes good sense. That's a key financial incentive," Renner said.

nmcconaty@somdnews.com

Save energy costs

Representatives of American Community Properties Trust and the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative have tentatively scheduled meetings with the homeowners associations in St. Charles beginning at the end of March to discuss ways that property owners and businesses in the planned community can retrofit their homes and establishments with green technology, including energy-saving light bulbs and windows and Energy Star appliances.

The meetings will be held in the neighborhood centers in each community at 7 p.m.

The meetings are tentatively scheduled for March 31 at the Lancaster neighborhood center, April 5 at Wakefield, April 12 at Bannister, April 14 at Hampshire, April 21 at Dorchester, April 26 at Huntington and April 28 at Sheffield.

Call Craig Renner, ACPT's assistant vice president of community relations, at 301-843-8600 or e-mail crenner@acptrust.com for more information.