Western Tech gets statewide award for saving energy, money

One of La Crosse’s colleges has earned a statewide honor for its long-term practices to cut down on energy use and save millions of dollars in the process.

Western Technical College president Roger Stanford accepted the award Tuesday, given by a state program called Focus on Energy.

Stanford said the 100-year-old college can continue its educational work by saving energy and money where possible.

“So that we stay,” Stanford said at the Tuesday news conference, “and we can remain resilient and go to the next 100 (years), we have committed to being both sustainable and resilient organization, to help reduce our carbon footprint, reduce our costs, so that we can continue offering this high-cost education that’s so important for our communities, for employers, and for lifting people up.”

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez was on hand to present the award to WTC.

“Their work is a reminder to us all that we don’t have to choose between mitigating climate change, and protecting our environment, and good paying jobs and economic development,” Rodriguez said. “We can and should do both.”

The Focus on Energy program is recognizing the tech school for saving $4 million in energy costs over the past 13 years.

Methods for cutting back on energy use include switching to LED lighting, installing efficient heating and cooling systems and maintaining solar-powered charging stations for electric vehicles.