The National Adopt-A-Watt Program (NAAWP) began in Royal Oak, Mich. Instead of giving sponsors recognition for picking up litter alongside the road, the program gives them recognition for supporting clean tech and energy efficiency projects for financially challenged public institutions. The sponsors, in turn, receive recognition through signage placed in proximity of their contribution.
The NAAWP has completed projects in both Royal Oak and Dearborn, Mich. The Dearborn project included an electric vehicle charging station and 25 high-efficiency lights installed at the Henry Ford Centennial Library parking lot. Twenty-five sponsors in the Dearborn community paid for both projects.
A second Adopt-A-Watt project involved the installation of one EV charging station and 102 induction lights at the west Dearborn parking decks.
Now, the Southern Sierras Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have announced they will sponsor 10 Adopt-A-Watt projects in Southern California: five in San Bernardino County and five in Riverside County.
The first project is the Riverside Municipal Airport, which will retrofit 20 parking lot lights, reducing electricity consumption by 60 percent. They are also working with the Temecula Unified School District, which will retrofit 100 parking lot lights on district campuses.
Individual projects are first assessed on feasibility, and then the NAAWP marketing team finds sponsors.