By rights, energy guru David Konkle should have a crackling aura like
Reddy Kilowatt, an early electricity industry mascot. Although Konkle's mission is the opposite of Reddy the K's - he wants to conserve energy, not expend more - they share a point of view on its importance in our society.
"I have never lost my belief that energy is a big deal," Konkle says. From one-man stealth operative as the city's first energy staffer to internationally known teacher and energy consultant, Konkle is a pioneer.
"Dave commands a lot of respect from everybody in the energy area - not just in Ann Arbor, not just in Michigan, but around the country," says Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje.
Theoretically, Konkle is retired. Although most people wouldn't define retirement as having two jobs, that's where Konkle finds himself these days.
Lesson No. 1 of retirement planning -- there's no such thing as two half-time jobs, he deadpans. The former
City of Ann Arbor Energy Office head is now energy program director for
Ann Arbor's Downtown Development Authority. He's also an energy consultant for
ICLEI, an organization of local governments committed to sustainability. Although both positions are nominally half-time, he's backed off his national job to focus on getting downtown businesses into energy conservation mode with free energy audits paid for by the DDA.
His 1974 dual degree from the University of Michigan -- in geography and atmospheric sciences -- put him in the pole position in Ann Arbor's race to become an energy leader, expanding his portfolio from one-man energy awareness-raiser to working closely with Mayor Hieftje. Turns out '74 was good for grads interested in energy policy. It was the year of the first oil embargo. Konkle first worked for
Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center in Oxford, where he rebuilt a wind generator, and later for Sunstructures, a passive-solar home builder.
By the time the ‘80s rolled around, recycling had become the hot button issue, Konkle recalls. He knew if he could be patient, energy would surpass recycling. The City of Ann Arbor Energy Plan -- one of the first in the country -- was written in 1981, a result of the second oil embargo. A 1986 state grant funded half the cost of an energy staff person.
"Ann Arbor and nine other Michigan cities took advantage of the grant. When the grant ran out, Ann Arbor was the only city to continue it," Konkle says.
"When I got the job, nobody knew what I was supposed to do. We had a $1.5 million bond to do energy-efficient city street lights and parking structures. There were also 130 city facilities. I was to coordinate the budget and run the project."
City Council kept Konkle's job in the budget after project ended. He kept scoring grants for alternate-energy vehicles and landfill methane usage. "I kept a low profile. Between a couple of city administrators and budgets, they dismantled the department. I still got a paycheck. I worked on my own," Konkle says.
Then came big change. Hieftje was elected in 2000. He was proud of the city's energy program. The new mayor and Konkle didn't know each other but they quickly became allies to host a successful international energy conference, Rio Plus, in Ann Arbor. They continued to build on that success.
"I worked with Dave very closely in the time he was with the city," Hieftje recalls. "We achieved 20 percent renewable energy for government use this year -- that puts us in the top tier of cities. Dave had a great deal to do with getting there."
LED (light emitting diode) lighting for downtown streetlights -- at first experimental -- was funded by the DDA. The city also began using bio-diesel fuel in its fleet trucks. These efforts and more made Konkle an expert in municipal energy policy, leading to his appointment with ICLEI, where he taught other cities how to start their own energy programs. It's less enjoyable now, he says, because demand has ballooned; seminars and one-on-one consulting gigs have become webinars for dozens of participants.
In a career filled with challenges, his current roadblock is getting businesses to sign up for the DDA energy audit program. The first year, 40 businesses signed up. In year 2, there were 50. This year, it's fallen to 26.
"It's perplexing," Konkle says. "Why wouldn't anybody sign up if they knew about it? I think people are feeling so insecure about their business in general. They're afraid of making a long-term commitment, even one that doesn't cost anything."
Once a business applies and is approved for the DDA program, it takes up to a year to get the audit, and another six months to a year to make recommended changes, Konkle says. That's a barrier, even with DDA funds available to fund them.
"Virtually everywhere we go, the business can do something with lighting," Konkle says. "It's almost always the case that upgrades that will pay for themselves within two to five years.
LEDs continue to get improved."
At two downtown venues, energy audits have led to all-new stage lighting for
Performance Network and
The Ark, Konkle says.
Client businesses aren't the only ones getting an education. Konkle says he's learning from the program, too, including the discovery that compact fluorescent bulbs aren't for everyone.
"In retail, lighting is really important. Sometimes [our] solutions don't work for them. Whiter light is better. The 2000-degrees Kelvin light [favored for energy conservation] is a crummy yellow. That's especially important for jewelry stores because [the wrong light] changes the color of gem stones."
So what's the Konkle personal energy profile?
Drives a hybrid? Check. Lives in Grass Lake, where he installed a solar water heater system in 1974.
"I've had to rebuild all but the collectors," he notes.
He and his wife primarily use wood to heat their house, which has excellent insulation and good windows.
Suddenly he starts to giggle. "We have a hot tub," he admits. More laughter.
Apparently, hot tub possession is at least a misdemeanor when you're an energy guru.
Constance Crump is Concentrate's Senior Writer. She's also an Ann Arbor-based writer whose
work has
appeared in Crain's
Detroit Business, The Ann Arbor News, The Detroit Free Press, and Billboard Magazine. Her previous article was Nightmare On Brandywine Street.
Send feedback/comments here.
All photos by Doug Coombe.
Photos:
Dave Konkle with a model of the Fifth Avenue parking structure development at the Ann Arbor DDA offices.
Dave points out solar collectors for car recharging stations at the Fifth Avenue parking structure.
Dave Konkle at the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority offices.
Not laid up by the layup - Dave and his cast for a ruptured Achilles tendon from playing basketball/