Port moves to avoid $140K penalty, seek $370K in incentives for building energy upgrades

WENATCHEE — The Chelan-Douglas Regional Port Authority will apply for more than $370,000 in state incentives to upgrade energy systems at the Confluence Technology Center and the Executive Flight building, a move aimed at meeting Washington’s Clean Buildings performance standards ahead of compliance deadlines in 2027 and 2028.

Andy Kaplowitz and Pete Perez, public sector representatives with MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions, presented the findings of an investment-grade audit and outlined a path toward compliance built around normal equipment replacement cycles rather than premature retrofits.

“They don’t require what I call heroic measures,” Kaplowitz said of the state law. “It’s really intended to say that as the useful life of the equipment is approaching the end, it’s time to make some decisions about how you replace and upgrade that equipment in order to meet the compliance requirements.”

The Confluence Technology Center must meet the standard by June 1, 2027, with the Executive Flight building at Pangborn Memorial Airport following in 2028.

If the port takes no action, Kaplowitz said, the financial impact would be immediate.

“What you’re looking at essentially is about $140,000 that would be out the door that you’d have to pay to Commerce if you do nothing,” he said, adding that noncompliance would also mean losing access to incentive funding and being placed into a mandatory compliance process.

By moving forward now, the port can offset a significant share of the cost.

“There are incentives and grant funds available in excess of $370,000 available to the port,” Kaplowitz said.

Perez then walked commissioners through the audit results, which identified two primary opportunities at the technology center: replacing an aging building control system and converting remaining fluorescent lighting to LED fixtures.

“Currently there’s about 50 percent of the lighting that is still fluorescent and non-LED, so there's a tremendous savings opportunity with upgrading the lighting,” Perez said.

The largest efficiency gain, he said, comes from how the building’s rooftop units are currently operated.

“There’s a two-hour building warm-up mode where the rooftop units are ventilating the space when nobody is in the building,” Perez said. “We could allow the building to warm up without having to warm up 30-degree outside air when nobody’s here. That’d be a tremendous savings opportunity.”

Although Chelan County PUD’s low electric rates limit the direct dollar value of energy savings, the project still meets cost-effectiveness thresholds because of reduced maintenance and labor.

“It’s the lamps and ballasts and the labor to replace those year over year that carry that over to being a cost-effective measure,” Perez said.

Beyond compliance, the upgrades are expected to improve tenant comfort, extend equipment life and protect the long-term value of the port’s real estate.

“If the building is not operating ideally that could affect your rents, it also could affect the market value of the building,” Kaplowitz said.

Commissioner Richard DeRock noted during board discussion that lighting conversions often generate enough savings on their own to justify moving forward without waiting for incentives, based on his previous experience with a similar Link upgrade that occurred while he was general manager of the transit authority.

The board authorized staff to pursue the available grants and early-adopter incentives while also seeking a state extension that would allow a full 12-month performance period to demonstrate reduced energy use.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media