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Project

Kentucky Horse Park Greens Up Equestrians

Credits: ©2010 Kentucky Horse Park

The state of Kentucky is showcasing its greener self as the World Equestrian Games take place for the first time outside of Europe in September 2010 at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Equestrian Games take place every four years over 16 days with eight world events for horses. Many green initiatives have been implemented for the games including two solar hot water systems that were installed at the Kentucky Horse Park campground to supply heated water for the restrooms - for sinks, showers and laundry facilities. The systems are comprised of five solar collectors in order to heat water which is actively pumped through it. The solar thermal system is integrated with the existing electric hot water system, and will provide hot water about 70 percent of the time, with supplemental water heating from the conventional electric system to be used during cloudy periods and nighttime. Only four hours of sunlight are required by the solar thermal system for a full day’s worth of hot water.

 

Kentucky Horse Park Solar Hot Water

Pat Coxon of SunWind Power Systems of Indiana, the renewable energy company that installed the solar thermal system, says the solar hot water is part of a larger effort to green up the Kentucky Horse Park and the World Equestrian Games.

Additional green initiatives for the event include recycling, water reduction, and use of compostable products. Using eco-stations and compostable products, the World Games 2010 Foundation is projected to recycle and compost over 360 tons of material that otherwise would go to the landfill. Volunteers will assist spectators in where to place their disposables. These bins will be designated for recyclables, compostables and waste materials.

Additionally, the biodegradables supplier, Green Duck, partnered with the Games’ concession and catering vendors to utilize certified, compostable to-go food service packaging, including plates, cups, cutlery and food containers. With these compostable products in place, more than 90 percent of the packaging for foodservice will be diverted from the landfill, and instead be turned into nutrient-rich compost soil.

In addition, volunteers have been planting a stream-side buffer zone at the horse park consisting of native vegetation, trees and plants to help filter water run-off and improve water quality.

Attendees of the World Equestrian event can purchase carbon credits from the forests of Eastern Kentucky to off-set their emissions.

Earlier in 2010, the Kentucky Horse Park received loans for the purchase and installation of a manure bioenergy management facility, which will provide an on-site solution for waste disposal, generating renewable electricity and protecting the environment. The Park spends an average of $200,000 per year to dispose of horse manure. But construction of this manure bionergy management facility will eliminate costs associated with waste disposal while providing many environmental benefits. The productive reuse of horse manure to generate electricity is expected to substantially offset electricity charges incurred, and use of the resulting bioenergy produces less greenhouse gases than the continued transport of manure to the landfill.

Following article is from EquiSearch, November 2009
Kentucky Horse Park Announces Cost, Energy Savings Projects
The Kentucky Horse Park will launch several energy conservation initiatives that will be ready for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

November 25, 2009 -- On November 23, with the help of Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear and executive cabinet members, the Kentucky Horse Park (KHP) announced plans for several new permanent greening initiatives that will be ready by the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, being held at the park September 25-October 10, 2010.

The park has been approved for a combination of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus funds and low-interest loans, totaling nearly $5.7 million that will be repaid by the cost savings in energy and maintenance resulting from the projects.

"By taking these aggressive efficiency measures, the Kentucky Horse Park is demonstrating the value of energy conservation and how it has a positive impact on our environment now and in the future," said Beshear. "As a World Equestrian Games (WEG) board member and as a Kentuckian, I am confident that when our international guests arrive for the Games, they will be impressed with our world-class facility in the Kentucky Horse Park."

The energy conservation measures range from renewable energy solutions to innovative and traditional Energy Conservation Measures (ECM) and cost savings. Once the cost of the design, installation and maintenance of the energy conservation measures are paid, all further savings will generate revenue for the park indefinitely.

The park secured funding from two sources: an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) and an ARRA grant, administered by the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority's Clean Water State Revolving Fund.�The $1.95 million ARRA award will be structured as 50 percent low interest and 50 percent principal forgiveness loans.

An ESPC is an agreement between a state government facility and an Energy Services Company (ESCO) in which energy-efficiency improvement projects are financed through the savings these projects are guaranteed to produce. The ESCO for this project is Ameresco Inc., the largest independent energy services provider in North America. Ameresco has an office in Louisville.

Kentucky's Energy and Environment receives the federal funding for the ESPC program, which is administered by the Finance and Administration Cabinet.

An extensive inflow and infiltration project at KHP will benefit the park and also the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) sewer district. The existing antiquated KHP sanitary sewer system has historically been impacted by the infiltration and inflow when it rains. This has caused the sewer bills to rise for this facility disproportionally when compared to the potable water consumption.

This ESPC project includes repair of the sanitary sewer manholes and repair or replacement of the sewer piping, resulting in an approximate $149,000 annual savings on the sewer bill. Preventing the infiltration of rain water into the system will eliminate approximately 26 million gallons of waste water from going to the LFUCG sewer plant for treatment.

Another project that will provide multiple cost-saving benefits to the park is the Energy From Waste facility, funded by the ARRA award. It will use a biomass gasification process for the disposal of horse manure. In the gasification process, horse manure will be gasified to produce so called "producer gas" for electricity generation.

Based on historic and projected muck generation at the park, there is an opportunity to produce approximately 1.6 Megawatts of electricity annually from KHP's muck production. This will offset the park's electrical needs, reducing the annual cost for electricity by approximately $84,000. It will also eliminate the cost of much disposal, saving the park $133,899 annually. The Energy from Waste facility will produce less greenhouse gases than the continued transport of muck to a landfill.

The total estimated annual cost savings for all of the efficiency measures announced will be $582,000.

Additional greening initiatives:

• Solar tracking skylights: The installation of 44 solar skylight tracking systems at the park's existing covered arena. Solar Tracking Skylights consist of highly reflective mirror panels within a clear plastic enclosure, which move continuously to follow the sun's position in the sky, eliminating the need for electric lighting of the arena during daylight hours.

• Upgrade to existing swimming pool: Ameresco will install one Dolphin Ozonate Pool Purification System for the Campground's 160,000 gallon swimming pool. The Dolphin Ozonate Pool Purification System will keep the swimming pool clean and save over 90 percent on chemical costs and 50 percent on pump running cost. The system does not use salt or produce any corrosive chemicals or agents.

• Solar powered trash compactor: KHP's trash removal charges are based on volume and the frequency of pick up. A new Marathon Solar Powered VIP trash compactor will be installed to reduce the volume of waste by a fourth and generate electrical power through a solar panel.

• Solar domestic water: The installation of two solar domestic water heating systems will be installed at the campground bathhouses. The systems will provide warm water without the use of electricity.


Documents

  Kentucky Horse Park Solar Hot Water Article Sept 2010 (4,677 kb)


Resources

Green Duck Biodegradables

SunWind Power Systems (Kentucky, USA)

Kentucky Solar Partnership (USA)