Great Alaska Energy challenge: where big losers and low users are winners.

• Author: West, Gail
• Position: ARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING

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The entries are in and the judging is over--and Alaska has significant energy savings to show for the contest. Initiated in 2011, the Great Alaska Energy Challenge was organized by the Renewable Energy Alaska Project and sponsored by Alaska Housing Finance Corp. with support from Brown's Electric and Alaska Business Monthly. The Challenge sought to raise awareness about energy efficiency and conservation and to save both the State and its municipalities much needed money. Under Challenge guidelines, contestants were judged in four categories:

* Biggest Loser--Heat

* Lowest Use--Heat

* Biggest Loser--Electricity

* Lowest Use--Electricity

With the contest over for the first year, Shaina Kilcoyne, REAP's energy efficiency director, says that thanks to combined energy efficiency and conservation efforts, the teams shaved more than $40,000 from their electricity and heat costs compared to the year before, and avoided more than 500,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.

"Alaskans pay some of the highest energy costs in the nation, and a large amount goes to heat and light our buildings," Kilcoyne says. "Simple changes, such as turning off appliances that are not in use, installing more energy-efficient appliances and building more efficiently to begin with can add up to huge savings."

Any school or public building was eligible to enter the contest and teams could be comprised of participants from one building or a number of buildings. If a team represents more than one building, however, all the buildings must be owned by the same entity.

"We had all sorts of buildings entered," Kilcoyne says. "We had everything from a sewer treatment plant to an airport terminal. It certainly was not a one-size-fits-all competition."

REAP, a nonprofit coalition of Alaska utilities, businesses, conservation and consumer groups, Alaska Native organizations and municipal, state and federal entities, was originated with the goal of increasing the production of renewable energy and protracting the benefits of clean, economic and inexhaustible renewable power to Alaskans.

"We generally work on education, outreach, collaboration and advocacy," Kilcoyne says. "The idea for this competition has been floating around REAP for the past three years, and we launched it in October of last year. We wanted to encourage saving energy in the workplace, create a buzz around energy efficiency and conservation and educate students about their energy use."

The...