LEWISTON – One of the first graduates of Bates College’s environmental studies program has returned to Lewiston to help make city government greener.

Ian Houseal, a 2000 Bates graduate, began work as the city’s new energy czar on Monday.

“What we’re doing here is helping to create a plan that lets the city reduce its energy costs,” Houseal said Monday. “From there, we’ll see what can be moved into the community at large, as far as reducing the carbon footprint. I’ll also be looking at renewable energy sources for the city.”

Houseal most recently worked for environmental consultants Jacques Whitford, doing work in Portsmouth, N.H., around Environmental Protection Agency cleanup grants, and in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, on energy sustainability issues.

Before that, he worked as a planning intern at Chapel Hill, N.C. He holds a master’s degree in architecture from North Carolina State University, a master’s degree in regional planning from the University of North Carolina and a bachelor’s degree from Bates College.

The city created the energy czar position this past summer as a way to make government operations more efficient. Houseal will look at city departments and help them develop plans to cut energy related costs. Officially, the job title is special assistant to the city administrator, but city officials are calling the position “energy czar.” The city began advertising for the job in July.