St. Paul's RiverCentre ups conservation goals to reduce the carbon footprint at the convention center, Xcel Energy Center and Wilkins Auditorium; the complex is also using federal stimulus funds to replace parking-ramp lighting -- cutting energy consumption by an estimated 47 percent -- and working with Xcel Energy Center to reduce solid waste coming out of the auditorium/arena/convention-center complex.

As part of their commitment to sustainability, officials at Saint Paul RiverCentre and Xcel Energy Center today announced the next phase of their long-term plan – a set of energy goals designed to increase efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of the facilities.

The new goal is called "80-20 in 3" and aims to reduce the carbon footprint at Saint Paul RiverCentre, Xcel Energy Center and The Legendary Roy Wilkins Auditorium by 80 percent and make the facilities 20 percent more efficient than average within three years time.*

"This '80-20 in 3' phase builds on the momentum and continued success of our '50-50 in 2' recycling program," said Karolyn Kirchgesler, president and CEO of Visit Saint Paul. "It shows that this is an all encompassing sustainability plan and that we are serious about reducing the negative effects that our work can have on the environment."

The carbon footprint reduction plan will focus on direct operations of the facilities. By building a renewable energy portfolio, upgrading to more efficient technologies and utilizing best practices for energy efficiency, officials believe the buildings' carbon footprint can be cut by 80 percent.

The lighting-replacement project is the first of many in Saint Paul utilizing $2.8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funds awarded to the City by the U.S. Department of Energy last fall.

“RiverCentre’s new fixtures represent Saint Paul’s commitment to energy efficiency and conservation,” Mayor Chris Coleman said. “This grant money is helping the City, businesses, and residents make their buildings more energy efficient while saving money and creating jobs in this new, green economy. It also allows the City to invest in infrastructure that keeps us on the leading edge of developing energy alternatives and sustainability.”

By replacing over 900 old fixtures, RiverCentre will reduce the ramp's electricity use by 47 percent and and have an annual savings of approximately $66,000. While the project cost $126,006.82, only $44,102.39 came from the grant, with Xcel Energy providing $73,031.62 in rebates and $8,872.81 coming from RiverCentre Capital Funds.

"This conversion represents another exciting milestone for our convention center," said Karolyn Kirchgesler, President and CEO of Visit Saint Paul. "This takes us one step closer to our goal of becoming a leader in green meetings and is further validation of the extent to which we are going to implement new cost saving, conservation measures."

The City will also utilize more than $1 million of the grant to upgrade and improve City-owned buildings like recreation centers, libraries and other publicly-owned facilities. This includes installing energy efficient lights as well as improving overall energy use, saving the City more than 2 million kilowatt hours of energy. The improvements are estimated to pay for themselves in less than three years. Other funds will be used to pilot energy efficient street lighting using Light Emitting Diode LED lamps.

In addition to the RiverCentre renovations, the grant money is being used by the City to develop solar marquee charging stations, on-street stations and parking ramp stations to support Saint Paul’s effort to advance electric vehicles.

Meanwhile, a multi-faceted waste reduction initiative launched last September has increased recycling to 41 percent, significantly cutting down the amount of landfill generated in the complex.

The goal, branded “50-50 in 2,” is aiming to reduce the amount of trash generated at Saint Paul RiverCentre, Xcel Energy Center and The Legendary Roy Wilkins Auditorium by 50 percent while increasing the amount recycled to 50 percent by July of 2011.

The recycling rate across the facilities for the fourth quarter of 2009 was 41 percent, which is more than double the measured recycling rate before the project began. In November alone the recycling rate reached 47 percent.

"We are proud of the wonderful progress that we've seen in such a short period of time with our '50-50 in 2' sustainability initiative," said Saint Paul RiverCentre Vice President and General Manager Jim Ibister. "By continuing to deliver strong results, our organization can begin to focus on our energy goals and launch phase two of our initiative -- green purchasing -- which we hope will help drive the demand for recycled materials."

Since the launch of “50-50 in 2,” the campus has successfully diverted 408,000 pounds of trash. This is a reduction of 49 percent, which amounts to the weight of 83 Minnesota Wild hockey teams. Although composting is not yet a common practice in Saint Paul, it has quickly been adopted by the campus, making Saint Paul RiverCentre one of the first convention centers in the nation to compost in public areas. In just three months, 33 tons of compost has been collected. Additionally, 66 tons of cardboard and 29 tons of bottles and cans have also been recycled.

“We are proud to be a national leader in these green initiatives,” said President and CEO of Saint Paul Convention & Visitors Authority Karolyn Kirchgesler. “While we are excited about how rapidly this was embraced, we are still working hard to reach our goal.”

The proportion of recycling bins to waste receptacles across all facilities is now at a nearly 1:1 ratio. As the initiative unfolded, enhancements were made to improve the efficiency of waste handling, and composting was soon added to the effort.

“This has been a transformative time for the operations of this facility. What is happening right now on campus, these results – they are not just impressive but admirable,” said Progressive Associates, Inc. President Patrick Reeves. “The diversion of over 400,000 pounds of trash in this short time period is a win in so many ways. RiverCentre and Xcel Energy Center are not just reaching a goal, they have changed how they think about and handle waste, and it is a wonderful example for the Twin Cities.”