Community Energy Challenge

As far as we know, this is the only energy-efficiency project of this magnitude in the nation! Our 5-year goal is to save between 10 percent and 15 percent of the community's energy use.

Rothsay Public School is the focus of the Community Energy Challenge. Students are involved in project development and implementation, and they're leading the community in modeling energy efficiency.

Through this program we are:

Helping homeowners and businesses within Rothsay achieve cost-effective, long-term energy savings.
Helping Otter Tail Power Company customers save money on their
energy bills.
Modeling next-century energy habits for family, neighbors, the rest of the state, and the country.

Commitment to stewardship
Each of our pay-it-forward projects includes an element of environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic impact to reinforce our commitment to the premise behind being On for generations.

Environmental stewardship: This project focuses on energy-efficiency improvements, plug-load reductions (plug-loads draw energy even when they are not in use, such as computers, TVs, and chargers), education, research, and energy reductions through behavioral changes.

Social responsibility: The project relies on the enthusiasm and influence of community members—including our young people—which makes it especially exciting.

Economic impact: This project offers individual homeowners and businesses many options for saving energy and money. Our commitment to reducing energy use can be achieved only through customer willingness to invest in technologies that will help lower their consumption and lower their electric bills.

Rothsay was chosen based on the following criteria:

Community size
Existence of a school
Program cost-effectiveness considerations (e.g., distance from Otter Tail Power Company's headquarters, accessibility, etc.)
Energy-efficiency potential
Community's energy-focused culture and vision

Incentives include, but are not limited to:

Rebates covering 25 percent to 75 percent of lighting, air-source and geothermal heat pumps, water heaters, appliances, refrigeration, and motors.
Free residential demand control units, compact fluorescent lightbulbs, block heater timers, water- and energy-saving packets, refrigeration recycling and in some instances replacement.
$7 a month for air-conditioning cycling of central air units.
Free weatherization for qualifying income customers.
Weatherization incentives for all customers.

Customer involvement and costs

Customers have out-of-pocket expenses associated with some of the installations, but Otter Tail Power Company can finance those expenses for customers in good standing at a 1.9 percent interest rate with payments added to the customers' electric service statements. In many instances, customers receive energy-efficient technologies without charge. Our overall plan attempts to cover 25 percent to 75 percent, and sometimes more, of a customer's investment in approved energy-efficient technologies.

It's important to note that the whole program is voluntary; no one will be forced to purchase or install anything. However, we believe that substantial rebates, easy financing terms, onsite energy assistance, and significant energy savings will make installing energy-efficient technologies the logical choice.

One of the most exciting parts of the plan is the Home Energy Makeover. We will choose one home from our selected community to receive an energy makeover! The winning homeowner will receive up to $12,000 in energy-efficient installations such as weatherization, doors, windows, and heating systems. Our previous experience is that customers can see up to a 50 percent reduction in heating and cooling costs, along with enhanced comfort and home safety, after a home energy makeover is completed. That's long-term savings at no cost to the customer!

Kickoff celebration - April 9, 2009

Photos of the kickoff celebration

Project timeline