Duke Energy honors DePauw with 2021 Power Partner Award

Among a number of projects focusing on sustainability on the DePauw University campus in recent years, a net-metered rooftop solar array was installed on the DePauw Indoor Tennis and Track Center. The university’s efforts in the area of energy savings were recently

Courtesy DePauw University

DePauw University was recently selected as one of six organizations to receive the Duke Energy 2021 Power Partner Award.

The program, which began in 1992, recognizes businesses and other organizations that achieve notable results in categories including innovative energy solutions, solution innovation, service excellence and sustainability excellence.

DePauw was honored in the category of sustainability excellence.

In 2017, the university began planning a Campus Energy Master Plan (CEMP) to develop a long-term energy infrastructure strategy to upgrade heating and cooling systems to lower costs and improve sustainability.

In alignment with the planning of the CEMP, DePauw opted back into Duke Energy’s Smart $aver program to take advantage of incentives and rebates. Since 2017, the university has received a total of more than $319,000 in incentives and is expected to receive another nearly $178,000 for the new chiller plant and HVAC system.

Leveraging its sustainability focus as an educational opportunity, DePauw also installed a net-metered rooftop solar array on the indoor track and tennis facility, along with a dashboard to empower student ideas and opportunities.

Elsewhere in higher education in the Hoosier State, Purdue University was also honored in the category of solution innovation for a 16-megawatt combined heat and power plant that will produce both electricity and steam more efficiently and cost-effectively than a traditional utility plant.

The other organizations honored were Barrette Outdoor Living of Brooksville, Fla., for sustainability excellence; Caldwell Memorial Hospital of Lenoir, N.C., for service excellence and solution innovation; Ford Motor Co. of Sharonville, Ohio, for sustainability excellence and service excellence; and IBM of Durham, N.C., for sustainability excellence.

“We are honored to do business with the exceptional organizations selected to receive this award that recognizes their operational excellence and innovation,” Duke Energy Vice President of Large Business Customers Chris Edge said. “All of these distinguished businesses not only are a benefit to their customers, stakeholders and communities, but are also valued customers of Duke Energy.”