Paris receives Tennessee Municipal League award for Excellence in Green Leadership. This award was presented and received by City Commissioners and City Manager at the TML 83rd Annual Conference on Tuesday, July 25th.
The Tennessee Municipal League honors cities throughout the state for overall excellence, improvement, specific outstanding programs, or department accomplishments.
Officials with the City of Paris have made numerous investments in green energy resulting in both financial savings and community beautification. The City of Paris began building its sustainability portfolio with a project that transitioned 2,500 streetlights to LED bulbs, several municipal buildings to have LED lighting, programmable thermostats, movement sensors for lights, updated HVAC systems, and upcoming plans to add LED lighting to local sports fields. The energy savings generated from this move has more than paid for the associated debt service as well as given the city a more modern feel.
Officials in Paris have also worked to improve the community’s walkability, utilizing three grants totaling more than $2.5 million to construct new sidewalks. These projects will connect four schools to a main retail thoroughfare via sidewalks and has daily use in the community.
By working with the Paris Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and TVA’s power supply flexibility program, Paris officials contracted with a solar developer to provide 5% of the community’s annual energy. The Paris Solar Farm sits on 80 acres and provides electric rate stability that will save $300,000 in power costs.
By building on past sustainability successes and securing partnerships and grant funding to make projects a reality, Paris has successfully combined sustainability, cost efficiency, and beautification.
