Media Contact: Karl Walquist, (775) 834-3891

The Lyon County School District has earned a $10,907 incentive payment from Sierra Pacific Power Company for energy efficiency improvements at three schools in Lyon County.

The school district is receiving the payment through the utility's Sure Bet for Schools program, which rewards schools for investing in energy efficiency.

Incentive payments totaling $226,435 are going to six school districts in northern Nevada, as well as the University of Nevada, Reno, Truckee Meadows Community College, Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village and Western Nevada Community College in Carson City.

Energy efficiency measures implemented by the schools are expected to save up to 3.7 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, or enough energy to serve about 430 households for a year, according to John Hargrove, project manager for Energy Efficiency and Conservation at the utility. 

"Sure Bet for Schools offers a great opportunity for the schools to reduce their energy bills and a way to share information about projects and products,"Hargrove said. 

Following are the energy efficiency projects that were implemented by the Lyon County School District:
* High Intensity Discharge lighting fixtures at Fernley High School were replaced with high efficiency T-5 fluorescent light fixtures.
* Controls for the ice storage system that helps cool the building and controls for heating/ventilation/air conditioning fan units at Silver Stage High School were reconfigured to operate more efficiently.
* Metal halide lights in the gymnasium at Silver Stage Middle School were replaced with high efficiency T-5 fluorescent lights.

The energy efficiency improvements implemented by the Lyon County School District are expected to reduce the school district's electricity usage by an estimated 112,079 kilowatt hours annually.