MONTGOMERY— Gov. Bob Riley has awarded a $20.9 million economic stimulus grant to help the Alabama Department of Corrections cut prison utility bills by upgrading equipment at its facilities throughout the state.

The department will replace inefficient equipment with new devices that are energy efficient and, in some cases, use renewable energy technology. The improvements will save Corrections more than $2 million per year, according to department estimates.

"The upgrades and new technology the Department of Corrections is investing in now will pay big dividends well into the future,” Riley said. “These changes will save millions of taxpayer dollars that otherwise would have been required to pay energy bills.”

The upgrades include:

·         Replacement of lighting systems at several facilities with devices that produce an equivalent amount of light using lower wattage bulbs.

·         Replacement of old kitchen equipment, including mobile hot carts, ovens, broilers and steam kettles, with Energy-Star models that use less energy and cook food faster.

·         Installation of new temperature control and monitoring systems for walk-in refrigerators and freezers. The systems optimize the operation of units and record and log data to help facility managers detect and fix problems earlier.

·         Conversion of laundries to systems that pump ozone into washing machines during a wash cycle. The ozone cleans laundry without the use of hot water, saving the energy now required to heat wash water.

·         Replacement of old air conditioners and heat pumps with high-efficiency split system heat pumps that both heat and cool.

·         Installation of programmable thermostats in administrative areas to automatically reduce heating and cooling during times the buildings are not occupied such as nights and weekends.

·         Installation of theromostats on ventilation fans in prison dorm areas. Currently, fans are run as needed with no temperature control or automatic shut-off.

·         Replacement of boiler systems used to heat major prison facilities with new, more efficient models. Some portions of the new systems will be fueled by biomass instead of gas or oil.

·         Addition of insulation blankets on boiler pipes. Blankets will help pipes retain heat longer and increase safety by covering pipes that can reach temperatures higher than 175 degrees. 

·         Purchase of three biomass generators for Limestone Correctional Facility. The systems will convert wood chips into gases that can generate limited electrical power.

·         Establishment of a centrally-located biogas plant that will collect food and oil waste from prison kitchens and process it into methane gas using an anaerobic digester. The gas can be used to power some kitchen equipment that currently uses propane gas as a fuel.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Riley notifed Richard Allen, commissioner of the Department of Corrections, that the grant had been approved.

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Contact: Mike Presley, Larry Childers