Countywide : County Honored for Energy Program

Ventura County government’s use of ethanol-powered automobiles and other innovative methods for conserving energy has brought it two state honors for energy efficiency this year.

The county was one of only 12 local jurisdictions around the state to receive the California Energy Commission’s Outstanding Energy Achievement in Local Government award for 1992 and one of only three counties to be recognized with the year’s Energy Excellence in Local Government honor.

Commission spokesman Bob Aldrich said the Outstanding Energy Achievement awards go to local governments that implement the commission’s recommendations for conserving energy. The Energy Excellence awards go to counties with energy-conservation efforts that go beyond the suggestions.

Ventura County officials “have been very, very aggressive” in making the government’s day-to-day operations more energy-efficient, he said.

In addition to using government cars powered by ethanol and other alternative fuels, the county also has installed more efficient lighting, heating and air conditioning systems at the government complex in Ventura. For example, officials put in an innovative thermal-energy storage system this year that saves more than $200,000 annually.

The system, housed in two 125-foot-wide underground plots at the government center, utilizes eutectic salts, the same ingredient used in coolers, said Peter Pedroff, director of the county’s General Services Agency.

County workers freeze the salts at night, when energy costs are low. During the day, when energy is more expensive, water is poured over the frozen salts, generating cool air that is pumped through the government center’s air-conditioning system.

Conserving energy helps protect the environment, but Pedroff said the county is also motivated by economics.

“We’re always looking for innovative ways to save money,” he said.