Printable Version

U.S. Department of Energy Technical Assistance in Greensburg, Kansas

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), provided a team of technical experts to help Greensburg incorporate energy efficiency and renewable energy into its rebuilding activities. These experts contributed to Greensburg's first-year rebuilding and longer-term community rebuilding.

Master Plan for Rebuilding Green

DOE/NREL began to provide energy efficiency and renewable energy technical expertise to Greensburg in June 2007, just one month after 95% of the city was destroyed or damaged by a tornado. Because of the nearly-complete devastation of Greensburg, comprehensive planning was essential to rebuilding. Energy considerations were a key component of the two phases of master planning that occurred before Greensburg could substantially rebuild. The first phase of planning was a long-term recovery plan led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), completed in August 2007. The second phase was a community master plan completed in May 2008 and led by the community planning and architectural firm Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell Architects (BNIM). DOE/NREL contributed technical assistance to both phases of planning.

DOE/NREL carried out detailed studies examining:

• Conventional and renewable energy use before and after the tornado
• Availability of renewable energy resources
• Rational energy options
• Potential integrated energy solutions.

DOE/NREL worked with federal and state agencies; city leaders, staff, and energy consultants; volunteers and non-profits to complete and review these studies and used energy modeling software to identify integrated energy solutions. The DOE/NREL experts then presented their recommendations and studies to city leaders and residents.

DOE/NREL's work in Greensburg provided a substantial portion of the energy-related ideas and recommendations in the Greensburg Comprehensive Master Plan developed by BNIM. The plan is available on the city's Web site. The following accomplishments tie directly to Greensburg's goals to reduce energy use in buildings, power their community with renewable energy, and use less gasoline and diesel fuel for transportation.

High-Performance Buildings

DOE/NREL provided education, training, energy modeling, and onsite assistance to help Greensburg set new standards for new and renovated residential, public, and commercial buildings.

• New homes will use 30%–40% less energy than before the tornado.
• All new city building projects will achieve LEED Platinum rating (the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system). As a result, other buildings such as the Greensburg School, Kiowa County Memorial Hospital, and other Kiowa County buildings are working to achieve LEED Gold or Platinum ratings. Greensburg may have the highest concentration of LEED Gold and Platinum buildings in the United States.
• Greensburg's business community is rebuilding with a "green brand." For example, the BTI Equipment John Deere dealership meets LEED Platinum standards and is the model for all future John Deere dealerships. Read the brochure (PDF 2.1 MB). Download Adobe Reader.

Community Wind Energy

Located in the state with the third-highest potential for wind energy in the country, Greensburg decided to pursue a plan to use wind to provide power to the community. In support of that goal, DOE/NREL provided energy analysis and acted as consultants for the city and its local utility partners, the Kansas Energy Office, and potential power providers.

• The city, which operates as a municipal utility, helped to develop, and will benefit directly from, a new 12.5-megawatt wind energy system to be installed near Greensburg. This system is projected to meet the pre-tornado electricity needs of the community.
• The city entered into a power purchase agreement with a "green" power provider that has promised "100% green electricity, 100% of the time" from their wind, hydro, and other renewable energy electricity generation sources.
• The system will include 1.5 megawatt biodiesel generators for emergency backup.

Distributed Renewable Energy

Distributed-scale renewable energy is made up typically of small systems located on homes and businesses. DOE/NREL made several contributions to Greensburg to facilitate installation and ownership of these systems.

• Recommended city ordinances that are friendly to wind and solar systems and that provide necessary safety requirements.
• Provided a draft interconnection agreement and net-metering policies. Typically, a utility provider is accustomed to sending electricity in only one direction on the utility grid—to a customer's home, for example. A home with a distributed system both receives and sends electricity to the grid. Because of this, interconnection agreements with the utility are very important. Net-metering policies are also important as they allow the owner of a distributed system to get the most value for the electricity sent back to the grid.
• Conducted studies to identify the use of biomass resources, especially agricultural wastes. DOE/NREL is working with local business and economic development interests to analyze the feasibility of a new business strategy for pelletizing biomass wastes that could provide heat for buildings.

Alternative Transportation

DOE/NREL completed a study that outlines opportunities for use of alternative fuels and electric and hybrid-electric vehicles in Greensburg as well as development of alternative-fuel filling stations.