News & Events

January 28, 2025 Sustainability Lab @ T-REX

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Published on Monday January 13th, 2025

St. Louis County Comprehensive Plan

Tuesday, January 28, 2025
3:45pm-5:00pm Presentation & Discussion (join in person or on Zoom)
5:00pm-6:00pm Networking (in person only)

Join in Person:
T-REX (911 Washington Ave. in downtown St. Louis)
Sharptooth Boardroom (5th Floor)
Plan your trip using public transit here.

Register and Join on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsdOyprjsiGdC2tNeik6F5D-1R4VQ4xsAU

Comprehensive plans offer an opportunity to prioritize and plan for community needs such as multimodal transportation, affordable housing, and housing stock that is energy efficient, combating high energy costs. These needs are just a few of the priorities and goals that were identified through community input for St. Louis County's Comprehensive Plan. At this Lab, we will discuss aspects of the plan that relate to sustainability. This will be St. Louis County's first comprehensive plan in 40 years, so it provides a unique opportunity to give input on the county's future for decades to come.

Click here to save this event to your calendar. 

Cities Pave the Way for Native Plants, Composting, EVs, and More

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Published on Friday January 10th, 2025

Author: Anna Chott, Sustainability Planner at East-West Gateway Council of Government

Photo Credit: St. Louis Green Business Challenge

 

The St. Louis Green Business Challenge helps businesses, non-profits, and municipalities assess and improve their social and environmental impacts while meeting their fiscal objectives. Municipalities in particular have the ability to implement policies that can have a widespread impact on sustainability. 

 

Municipalities that participated in the challenge in 2024  increased waste diversion, passed native landscaping ordinances, installed public electric vehicle charging, streamlined solar permitting, and more. 

• The City of Collinsville made major strides in waste diversion. The city’s Willoughby Heritage Farm and Conservation Reserve diverted from landfills 7,196 pounds of coffee grounds, food waste, paper waste, and spent grain. The farm also offered a 10-session educational program about composting with Seed STL and Table to Garden. The city composted more than 70 tandem truckloads of leaves that will provide free leaf mulch to residents in the spring. 
• The Cities of Olivette and Wentzville also took major steps to reduce waste. Olivette’s Five Oaks on Warson community center uses reusable dishware for meetings and events, offers recycling, has eliminated Styrofoam, and offers paperless towels and composting for employees. Wentzville staff use washable utensils at their quarterly Low-Waste Luncheons, preventing 4,000+ plastic utensils from landfill disposal. 
• Richmond Heights and Edwardsville joined other local governments in the St. Louis region that have ordinances that facilitate native landscaping. The City of Richmond Heights passed a customized version of the Grow Native! Model Native Plant Ordinance, and the City of Edwardsville passed a Managed Natural Landscapes Ordinance. The City of Hazelwood passed a weed ordinance modification for native plants in 2020, but in 2024 brought Code Enforcement inspectors up to speed on the regulations to better enforce them. Six other local governments in the St. Louis region had previously passed native landscaping ordinances. Find out more at OneSTL’s library of local sustainability ordinances under Native Landscaping Ordinances.
• The Village of Godfrey stepped up efforts to support native landscapes by expanding a restored prairie, educating municipal workers and landowners about invasive species management, and planting and distributing native trees and plants. 
• The Cities of Granite City and Maplewood joined a regional effort for No Mow April (or Low Mow April). This campaign encourages residents to mow less frequently in April  to allow bees and other early season pollinators access to nutrient-rich wildflowers like violets and clover. In addition to Now Mow April, the City of Webster Groves facilitated a Leave the Leaves campaign in 2024, to reduce removal of autumn leaves and provide shelter for insects and wildlife. 
• The City of Berkeley installed electric vehicle charging stations for public use at their city hall and police station. The city also obtained nine electric vehicles for their fleet, a trend that is growing in popularity with municipalities in the St. Louis region. 
• The City of Clayton adopted a resolution to initiate energy benchmarking for city-owned buildings, with the goal to engage large privately owned buildings in the future. Benchmarking tracks energy and water usage in large buildings and is an important step in identifying efficiency opportunities. 
• The City of Brentwood joined the City of Clayton in pursuing SolSmart designation to accelerate the use of clean, renewable energy. The SolSmart program helps local governments remove barriers to solar adoption, saving taxpayer resources and reducing the time and cost of business and residential installation. 
• The Village of Glen Carbon completed an Energy Master Plan Assessment of their municipal buildings and is now investigating recommended energy efficiency improvements and the possibility of a solar energy installation on their municipal complex. 
• The City of Highland is protecting natural areas by securing grants for projects to reduce sediment erosion around Silver Lake and establish wetlands in Old City Lake.

Local businesses also were recognized in the 2024 Green Business Challenge for purchasing 100% renewable energy, attaining Wildlife Habitat Council Conservation Certification, and more. Read more about participants’ outstanding achievements or join the challenge at stlouisgreenchallenge.com.  

EarthDance Farm Reduces the Cost of Solar Using Direct Pay

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Published on Thursday January 9th, 2025

Authors: Anna Chott (East-West Gateway Council of Governments), with review from William Hatch (Guarantee Electrical) and Doug Kolker (Wipfli LLP)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solar arrays on buildings at EarthDance Organic Farm School (Photo credit: Terry O'Connor)

The information in this article is not tax advice. Check with a reliable tax professional to make sure that a potential project is eligible.

EarthDance Organic Farm School, a teaching farm rooted in Ferguson, MO, is excited to be generating 87% of its energy needs with its new solar array. Join them to celebrate at their solar ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, January 15th at 2pm, at 233 S Dade Ave, Ferguson, MO 63135! (Please RSVP here.) The farm worked with Guarantee Electrical to install solar panels on its McBride Community Pavilion and George Fujii Harvest House.

 

EarthDance received an estimate that the panels would save more than $150,000 in avoided utility costs over the course of 30 years. So in about year 14, the system should have paid for itself. By reducing the farm’s utility costs, the project enables EarthDance to reinvest in its programs, such as sliding-scale educational offerings and “Pay What You Can” produce sales. EarthDance hopes to get 30% of the total cost of the solar array back using ‘direct pay,’ also known as ‘elective pay.’ 

 

Direct pay allows tax-exempt entities such as governments, schools, and nonprofits to take advantage of clean energy tax credits to reduce the cost of clean energy projects.

 

According to information released by the White House, applicable entities can use direct pay for 12 of the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits, including for solar, wind, and battery storage;  electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure; and clean vehicles. See a full list of applicable tax credits for direct pay here.

 

However, using the tax credits can be quite complicated. It is best to work with a reliable renewable energy company or tax professional to make sure that a potential project is eligible. Lawyers for Good Government also offers a Clean Energy Tax Navigator tool that can help direct you to resources on direct pay for specific potential, planned, or completed projects. 

 

In terms of advice for other organizations considering direct pay, Walker Carlson, EarthDance’s Accounting & Data Manager, recommends: “Start a year ago! It's one of those things that's subject to political decisions in Washington. You have to stay well up-to-date on any changes that are made to the availability of the tax credit, the rules on what kind of organizations can receive direct pay, how to go about receiving the direct pay, requirements for domestic vs. international manufacturing that can change the amount of the payment, etc.” 

 

Regarding the process to claim tax credits through direct pay, Carlson says, “We had to pre-register the project with the IRS, after the panels were put into service. Then we will receive a project registration number that will be included on our annual form 990, so that we can receive the tax credit.” A sample timeline for claiming direct pay is available here.  

 

This solar initiative represents the first phase of an ambitious long-term goal for EarthDance Organic Farm School: creating a Water-Wise Washroom on the farm. This planned facility will feature ecological waste management, rainwater recycling, and renewable energy, providing sustainable restroom options for the farm’s many visitors, volunteers, and program participants.

 

In addition to EarthDance, nonprofits and local governments around the country are taking advantage of direct pay to install clean energy. The City of Denver, Colorado has completed three new solar gardens with the help of direct pay, saving over $1 million dollars. In Detroit, Michigan, the Lord of Lords Christian Church is installing solar and will use direct pay to refund 30% of the costs. Even with solar loan payments, the switch to solar will immediately save the church about $739 annually on energy costs after those federal funds come in.

Local Contractors Install Nearly-Free Heat Pumps for Those in Need

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Published on Friday December 13th, 2024

Author: Anna Chott, Sustainability Planner at East-West Gateway Council of Governments

Nick Johnson decided to go into the field of building energy efficiency after reading on the EPA’s website that Black children are four times more likely to die from asthma than white children. He says that Healthy Homes is all about getting people in a good environment, and also education about the causes of negative health impacts.

Photo credit: Green Titans Energy

In 2017, Nick founded Green Titans Energy, a company that offers heat pump installation, weatherization (sealing of the building envelope), and mechanical ventilation to reduce the risk of mold. As an Ameren Illinois Energy Efficiency Program Ally, they have the ability to install heat pumps with 90 to 100% of the cost covered (including labor and equipment) for income qualified homeowners in eligible Illinois zip codes (especially East St. Louis) as well as businesses. These discounts for income-eligible customers are made possible with funding from the US Department of Energy and incentives from the Ameren Illinois Energy Efficiency Program. Illinois residents can find out more about the program here, or see below for a list of links for programs based on location and income. Nick says that even if the home’s furnace in need of replacement is natural gas, funding can cover the wiring needed for the conversion to an electric heat pump. He also points out that these heat pumps are being paid for in order to reduce energy consumption, to eliminate the need to open up more power plants.

Nick says that heat pumps are the way to go. “The homeowners love the heat pumps,” he says. “We were also able to give away free smart thermostats worth $200 and install them for free. They work extremely well with the heat pumps. They [the homeowners] never have to touch the thermostat, and they save on their energy bill. I get a lot of good feedback about heat pumps. I give customers an HVAC 1-on-1, so they can share about it with others when they’re in group conversations.”

Before founding his own company, Nick was an instructor for the Building Performance Institute. Most of the people he trained there in heating, cooling, and weatherization became independent contractors. He says they are doing extremely well, as there is a lot of work in this field. His company is based in East St. Louis but serves the Greater St. Louis Region, and they have no shortage of work installing energy efficient upgrades. Over time, the company’s crew has grown.

To find incentives for heat pumps and other energy efficient upgrades that you may be eligible for, you can explore the links below.

Ameren Illinois

• Energy efficient upgrades for income-qualified residents
• Discounts on energy efficient upgrades for all residential customers
• Discounts on energy efficient upgrades for business customers

Ameren Missouri

• Energy efficient upgrades for income-qualified residents
• Discounts on energy efficient upgrades for all residential customers
• Discounts on energy efficient upgrades for business customers

 

Photo credit: Green Titans Energy Nick Johnson worked and instructed in the field of building energy efficiency before starting his own HVAC company. 

Transitioning to a Heat Pump - My Experience

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Published on Tuesday November 12th, 2024

Author: Morgan G.

My experience getting a heat pump has been overwhelmingly positive, and I highly recommend it to anyone considering an HVAC upgrade. There were several reasons for my decision to switch to a heat pump.

1. Reducing Fossil Fuel Dependence: My primary motivation was to minimize reliance on fossil fuels, which contribute significantly to climate change, as well as reducing the environmental impacts associated with the extraction, refining, and transportation of natural gas. As a participant in Ameren's Pure Power wind energy program, I was paying for wind energy, so anything I could electrify in my home meant less fossil fuel consumption overall. The case would be the same for anyone else who participates in a solar or wind program or has rooftop solar. As Ameren moves away from coal generation, electricity will become a cleaner and cleaner source of energy for everyone, reducing impacts to climate and other environmental conditions. Heating and cooling are typically the largest energy consumers in a household, so by upgrading to a heat pump, I could significantly reduce both energy usage and emissions.
2. Cost-Effectiveness: Although heat pumps can be pricier up front to purchase and install than traditional systems, it was more efficient than the older systems, which lead to some energy cost savings. Also, I was able to get off natural gas, the prices of which are more subject to unpredictable geopolitical and environmental factors, which can cause billing spikes. I saw my bills stay the same or get cheaper depending on the month, and especially enjoy a cost benefit when gas prices are high.
3. Personal Health & Safety: I was uncomfortable with natural gas in my home due to concerns about gas leaks, carbon monoxide poisoning, and managing pilot lights. Even if these risks were extremely low, transitioning to electric heating made me feel safer.

I installed my heat pump in 2021 when my gas furnace was deemed "compromised" during a seasonal inspection and needed replacement. I had purchased my house at the end of 2020 and lived with a gas furnace and electric air conditioner HVAC system for the first year. I knew I wanted to consider electrifying and getting off gas heating, and looked into a heat pump. The gas furnace and air conditioning system were both from the 1980s, and the AC unit had a very low Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) rating of around 5 or 6. A heat pump would replace both the furnace and AC unit, while also offering an efficient solution for heating and cooling.

One word of caution I would give to others considering a heat pump is to be prepared for pushback from HVAC installers. They sell what they know and what they have in stock, so they may recommend conventional technologies over heat pumps. Despite expressing my interest in a heat pump, some contractors still suggested I replace my old gas furnace with a new gas furnace. With heat pumps on the rise as an energy efficient climate solution, I advise others to stand firm in their choice and critically evaluate the reasoning behind recommendations. An HVAC system can work for the next 20 years. If you care about an energy- and emissions-efficient long-term choice, don’t let a little more up-front cost or a contractor pushing older technologies get in the way of a long term benefit. In the end, I was pleased with my chosen contractor, who helped me navigate available rebates and tax incentives. For contractors interested in learning more about heat pumps, the DOE has a new tool to help with selection and installation of heat pumps. 

Keep in mind, the quality of installation significantly impacts a heat pump’s efficiency and longevity, so the experience of the company who installs it matters for the overall functionality of the system over its lifetime. Be sure to choose a company to work with carefully, and work with them closely so they have accountability for their work. I received quotes from three companies, some of which I found through Angi (formerly Angie’s List) and one from Ameren’s website, which provided ratings for contractors based on their ability to work with utility rebates. Ultimately, I selected a contractor from Ameren’s site due to their strong rating and familiarity with available incentives. Although cold-climate heat pumps can work in low temperatures, installers here will likely include an auxiliary heat kit to kick on when it gets really cold. Whether or not this is listed explicitly on their bid, it is commonly done in our region. 

It’s also important to note that whether you have a ducted HVAC system, a ductless mini-split system, or no artificial heating or cooling at all in a space, there is a heat pump for you! They come in both ducted and ductless ‘mini-split’ options. 

Since installing the heat pump, I haven’t noticed a difference in overall home comfort. While the initial investment may be a little higher, the long-term benefits are substantial: the potential to run on renewable energy; energy efficiency and potential savings, especially during periods of high gas prices; and health and safety.

Winter Sustainability Spotlight: Heat Pumps

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Published on Monday November 11th, 2024

Author: Steve O.

When we purchased our 30-year-old home in 1993, it still had the original HVAC equipment, including foam ductwork with deteriorating foil exterior and tape. When the air conditioner first failed on a hot summer day in the mid ‘90s, we replaced the failed part, and also installed new ductwork once the weather cooled down. When the AC failed a second time a few years later, again on one of the hottest days of the year, we ended up paying a premium to get the unit replaced because we didn’t have time to shop or schedule the work. We ended up buying the most affordable unit that would service our home, and certainly not the most efficient.   

In the mid-aughts, I started learning more about energy efficiency, and in 2007 we had our first energy audit done. Somewhere along the line I learned that a heat pump is simply an air conditioner working in reverse; instead of extracting heat from the interior and exhausting it outside, the heat pump extracts heat from the outdoors to warm the interior. Most people aren’t aware that, in order to make your freezer cold, refrigerant is simply compressed and expanded to remove heat from the subfreezing temperature. The most impressive thing is that heat pumps work at a fraction of the cost of electric or fossil fueled furnaces, though lower natural gas prices have reduced the savings.

After the Great Recession, financial incentives were offered to make investments in high-efficiency HVAC equipment more affordable. We used the St. Louis County SAVES program to get a low-interest loan to make it easy to pay off over a 10-year period. A combination of lighting; HVAC; plug loads (ie. power going to appliances that are plugged in but not turned on); and insulation projects, (along with some behavior modification!) enabled us to cut our energy usage in half.

Buildings are the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the St. Louis region, and almost half of a household’s energy bill goes to heating and cooling. So heat pumps offer an opportunity to reduce GHG emissions significantly. According to the International Energy Agency, the number of heat pumps will have to triple by 2030 to stay on track with climate goals. In the Midwest, replacing a gas furnace with an air-source heat pump can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 13-31%. As Ameren adds more renewable energy in Missouri and Illinois (or if you install rooftop solar!), emissions will shrink even more. Heat Pumps are one of six high-impact, energy efficiency improvements recommended by ENERGY STAR’s Home Upgrade that are designed to work together to deliver significant energy and cost savings. You can read more about how the energy efficiency improvements I made and solar all work together to lower my utility bills in my blog post here. 

In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, heat pumps have many other benefits. They can both heat and cool your home, eliminating the need to have both a furnace and an AC unit. They also dehumidify indoor air, resulting in less energy usage and more cooling comfort in summer months. According to ENERGY STAR, no indoor combustion means better indoor air quality because there are no direct emissions such as NOx, carbon dioxide, or carbon monoxide. It was previously thought that air-source heat pumps can’t work as well in cold climates, but today’s heat pumps, when properly installed, offer models that heat effectively at low temperatures.

To make heat pumps cheaper, tax credits are available through 2032, and rebates are available for a limited time from Ameren Illinois and Ameren Missouri. It’s important to note that not all heat pumps qualify for the tax credit, so be sure to confirm yours does. You can start by checking out ENERGY STAR’s information about the credit. In order to get the best heat pump system for your home, it’s important that you hire a reputable contractor with experience installing heat pumps who will pick the right equipment for your home and climate, and that you make any recommended weather-sealing improvements and/or insulation upgrades. Also, given the wide array in HVAC pricing, it’s recommended to get multiple quotes in order to make sure you’re getting the best deal. Rewiring America offers a search tool to find contractors through networks that qualify their members. 

It’s probably best for the environment and your wallet to wait to replace your furnace with a heat pump until it breaks. But now is the time to make a plan to use incentives and line up possible contractors to make your home more efficient - not when your furnace breaks on the coldest day of the year!