St. Luke's Rewarded for Commitment to Reducing Energy Waste

Ashland, WI – St. Luke’s Health Care System made its patients a priority in building its new Chequamegon Clinic in Ashland. It is evident in everything, from the clinic’s equipment to the services offered to the lakefront views throughout the facility.

St. Luke’s also took energy efficiency into account, installing indoor and outdoor LED lighting, energy recovery ventilators, and an efficient boiler and air conditioning system.

Those choices were rewarded on Monday with a combined payment of nearly $16,000 from Focus on Energy and Xcel Energy. The money is an incentive payment designed to help offset the cost of purchasing the energy-efficient equipment.

The investment St. Luke’s made in efficiency will lower its regular energy bills. In addition, the equipment will save 1.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity and 61,000 therms of natural gas over the course of its life. Combined, that is enough to power 135 homes for a full year.

“It was very important to us to make sure that we created a clinic that reflected the values of our community,” said St. Luke’s Chequamegon Clinic Manager, Denise Kontny. “We’re happy that our new clinic will have a positive impact in the area we serve, for generations to come.”

The clinic in Ashland is a utility customer of Xcel Energy, which provided a bonus incentive of $4,000 on top of the $11,721.48 incentive from Focus on Energy.

Xcel is also one of the 107 Wisconsin utilities that fund Focus on Energy, which offers energy expertise and financial incentives to home and business owners across Wisconsin. St. Luke’s participated in Focus on Energy’s Business Incentives Program for the Chequamegon Clinic projects.

The most recent annual evaluation report found every $1 invested in Focus on Energy programs creates $5.93 in benefits for Wisconsin, including economic benefits, reduced energy costs, and reduced pollution.

About Focus on Energy
Focus on Energy is Wisconsin utilities' statewide energy efficiency and renewable resource program funded by the state's investor-owned energy utilities and participating municipal and electric cooperative utilities. Focus on Energy works with eligible Wisconsin residents and businesses to install cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Focus on Energy information, resources and financial incentives help to implement projects that otherwise would not be completed. Its efforts help Wisconsin residents and businesses manage rising energy costs, promote in-state economic development, protect our environment and control Wisconsin's growing demand for electricity and natural gas. For more information call 800.762.7077 or visit focusonenergy.com.