Green, the turn-on

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FL Rep. Jeff Clemens and Mayor Pam Triolo

We can't get away from all things green especially when our former mayor, who is now our State Representative, works for a green energy company. It is highly unusual that the city allows a solicitation of services presentation without an RFQ but this time it was brought forward by Commissioner Amoroso. Jeff Clemens was at our Tuesday city commission meeting along with his boss, Christopher Summers, Regional Director of Energy Efficiency Systems located in Clearwater, Florida. This presentation was inspired by our own Energize Lake Worth, said Jeff.

Essentially this company is involved in performance contracting which is a process by which they say is "immediate energy efficiency and where capital improvement projects are funded through low interest financing. The loan payments are paid for by the energy and operational savings that are generated by the project and guaranteed by the contractor." When it comes to green, there are always enticing gimmicks and although not mentioned, you can bet there are always federal dollars involved.

Ok, so what does all this mean? How long does this company stick around after they are contracted? Although there are still some of you who gripe about Studies, this one will be at no cost to tell us all the possible savings we might get through their services.

The company says that it looks at all the operational facets of the city. The technology is evaluated and they make recommendations. Supposedly, performance contracting is a way to fund improvements by using energy and operational savings to offset the costs. This financing model provides what they say is a relatively quick payback on the investment. Once the payback is realized, savings typically continue to flow to the bottom line year after year. And the company says it is committed to providing ongoing support that can help identify additional savings opportunities and education on what they can further do to reduce energy costs as well as conserve. The company guarantees a certain monthly savings and gets paid out of the savings. I think.

All the commissioners were interested in moving forward after hearing the presentation. No one goes against "green" do they? "Green" turns everyone on no matter what. Going Green is still the in-thing these days as long as write-offs and government grants continue...all part of the failed Obama plan. Green-energy companies are failing; some have gone bankrupt; some are losing money and jobs.

We had an Energy Task Force under Jeff Clemens several years ago that came up with some great ideas. Some of the suggestions have actually been implemented by our former city manager, Susan Stanton. But, I have always viewed going green as an expensive and vaguely altruistic undertaking. When our financial health is still tenable, should it ever be a top priority?

I listened to the presentation but it is still unclear to me. When something sounds too good to be true...