Mike Ogburn, Clean Vehicle Technology and Active Energy Management
Mike is using his engineering background to create and run CLEER’s Clean Vehicle Technology program. He advises local governments and businesses on efficient fleet policies, vehicle technologies, and life cycle-cost decision-making. Mike organized and presented at the successful “Vehicle Fleets in the Clean Energy Economy” workshop held Feb. 5, 2010, in Glenwood Springs. He is also the author of much of the content in the “Transportation” section of the GarfieldCleanEnergy.org website.
Mike is also leading the development of customized energy tracking systems for local governments and businesses, including monthly bill databases and web-based minute-by-minute energy recording to assist cost saving programs in large facilities. He was the lead author and a researcher for an inventory of utility and transportation energy use and spending in Garfield County, “Adding Up the Bills.”
Prior to joining CLEER, Mike’s experience includes engineering and consulting positions at the Rocky Mountain Institute, Ford Motor Company, Ballard Fuel Cells, GE Aircraft Engines, and Cummins. During his tenure at the Rocky Mountain Institute, Mike worked with a major automaker on efficient vehicle design and also on a study that demonstrated steps to double the fuel efficiency of over-the-road heavy trucks. At Ford, he worked on the hybrid-electric Escape SUV and on the team of fuel cell system engineers who created Ford’s hydrogen-powered Focus FCV.
Mike earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech, with a specialization in hydrogen fuel cell systems for transportation. For three years at Virginia Tech, he led a team of over 50 engineering students who designed, developed and drove the world’s first fuel cell hybrid five-passenger sedan not built by a major auto company. As part of his research in fuel cells, he worked collaboratively with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy to develop advanced vehicles and vehicle modeling software.
Mike grew up in a passive solar home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and is an avid outdoor enthusiast. Prior to moving to Colorado, Mike and his wife, Tina Ogburn, lived aboard a sailboat, which they retrofitted with solar energy systems, and sailed to South America, Central America and back. They currently live in Carbondale with their son Henry.
CLEER Results as of November 2011
Energy Navigator
Eighty-one large public buildings are tracking and saving energy through a powerful new CLEER-created tool, launched in 2011: www.garfieldenergynavigator.org. Energy use for these large buildings is equal to 4,100 average homes. These buildings are already saving nearly $100,000 per year in large part due to CLEER assisting facility managers in using energy feedback capabilities of the Energy Navigator.
Renewable Energy
Sixteen public buildings now have renewable energy systems, all together generating more than 368 kilowatts of energy. CLEER’s Energy Navigator incorporates solar PV tracking of 11 major solar installations at Garfield Clean
Energy partner facilities. Energy produced by these systems saves county partners
approximately $50,000 per year in energy produced by these systems. In addition, 21 homes and businesses in Glenwood Springs now have solar, thanks to CLEER programs.
Garfield Clean Energy Challenge for Businesses
Seventy-four businesses are participating in our Clean Energy Challenge, a regional energy-saving and economic development program. Sixty-four businesses have had energy assessments, and 35 businesses have already achieved measureable energy and economic benefits.
Garfield Clean Energy Challenge for Homes
Two hundred and seventy-one households are actively participating in the residential energy-saving program, and 108 households have had energy upgrades. Homes and businesses are saving more than $310,000 in energy costs per year as a result of energy savings to date, putting money into the local economy that would otherwise be spent on energy. Totaling the programs listed above, savings from our work in renewable energy and building energy efficiency equals over $1.4 million annually.
Energy in the Schools
Seventeen area schools are participating in our clean energy transportation program, which had over 7,000 thousand students biking, walking, and taking the bus during transportation challenge week. More than twenty schools are tracking and saving energy resulting in more than $150,000 in school utility bill savings.
Alternative Transportation Fuels
Four neighborhood electric vehicles (NEV) and nine compressed natural gas vehicles (CNG) are now in use by governments partnering with Garfield Clean Energy. CLEER also assisted a local fuel station owner in building a CNG fueling station in Rifle, Colo. and many local businesses in Rifle and Parachute are
adopting CNG vehicles as a result. CLEER was awarded a grant to prepare the region for highway-capable electric vehicles and is also working with fleets to enable their adoption of CNG-powered heavy-duty trucks and buses.
Trainings & Workshops
In 2011, CLEER and Garfield Clean Energy held more than a dozen workshops and trainings attended by over 500 energy contractors, elected officials, and citizens.
Regional Cooperation & Clean Energy Financing
Nine government partners are now working together through Garfield Clean Energy to improve the economy through energy efficiency, and are launching a structure for reaching dramatic clean energy improvements long term. CLEER established clean
energy financing to help businesses and homeowners overcome financing barriers to clean energy.