The city of Buckley and Green River Community College are two of nearly 50 state entities that will be receiving energy efficiency grants from the state of Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee's office announced this week.
Nearly $18 million in grants to create jobs and to lower energy costs are going to 12 higher education institutions and 37 local governments.
The $325,000 awarded to Buckley will help update six city buildings with new programmable thermostats, HVAC systems and controls or insulation. The GRCC campus in Auburn was also awarded $453,000.
An estimated 543 jobs will be created by this construction spending. The total cost for all the projects is more than $66 million, including more than $48 million in non-state funding.
The immediate goal of the state’s Energy Efficiency Grant program is to stimulate Washington’s economy by creating jobs.
“This is precisely the sort of program we need as we work to rebuild our economy,” Inslee said. “These grants will reduce energy costs, provide training opportunities to students and create jobs in the clean energy sector.”
The long-term goal of the program is to reduce energy costs at the state’s public higher education institutions and local government facilities.
“The upgrades provided by these grants, such as new lighting, boilers, and water-saving plumbing, put people to work right away, and the energy efficiencies will save money for Washington taxpayers well into the future,” said Commerce Director Brian Bonlender. “The program stretches grant dollars by leveraging funding from non-state sources.”
The 2012 Legislature appropriated $20 million to higher education and $18 million to local governments, including a specific set aside of at least 10 percent for small cities or towns (populations of 5,000 or less). There have been two rounds of awards. The first recipients were announced in August 2012.
Round one award recipient Community Colleges of Spokane was able to install a building-wide control system in two of their buildings. The new control system is expected to save approximately $12,000 annually. Now instead of having the HVAC system either totally off or on, the maintenance staff maximizes the buildings’ energy efficiency. “The new controls make the buildings more comfortable for everyone. The energy savings are reinvested right back into other energy efficiency projects. We are marching through the campus buildings one at a time and making them more energy efficient. This grant gave us a good start,” said Director of Facilities Dennis Dunham.
Also a round one recipient, the City of Everett used funding to replace old HVAC systems and controls and removed an un-insulated roof containing asbestos. The new energy saving equipment and insulated roof is expected to save Everett approximately $29,000 annually. “These grant funds helped us fix critical pieces of equipment and building structures that have outlived their useful life. The energy savings generated results in reduced operating costs that improve the city’s bottom line,” said Director of Facilities Carlton Gipson.
Round two recipients of Energy Efficiency Grants are:
Higher Education Awards:
Applicant
Award
Location
Big Bend Community College
$472,032
Moses Lake
Community Colleges of Spokane
$80,000
Spokane
Green River Community College
$453,000
Auburn
Highline Community College
$196,877
Des Moines
Olympic College
$1,025,000
Bremerton
Pierce College
$825,000
Lakewood
Shoreline Community College
$349,643
Shoreline
UW Friday Harbor Laboratories
$533,147
Friday Harbor
UW Main
$978,555
Seattle
UW Medical Center
$496,769
Seattle
Washington State University
$1,445,627
Pullman
Yakima Valley Community College
$503,000
Yakima
Total
$7,358,650
Local Government Awards:
Applicant
Award
Location
City of Bremerton
$500,000
City of Camas
$110,711
City of Centralia
$500,000
City of Edmonds
$187,566
City of Everett
$191,949
City of Kirkland
$208,000
City of Lacey
$108,000
City of Olympia
$500,000
City of Port Townsend
$500,000
City of Renton
$500,000
City of SeaTac
$100,562
Grays Harbor County
$170,000
Montesano
Island County
$367,000
Coupeville
Island Hospital
$164,850
Anacortes
Kitsap County
$33,634
Port Orchard
Kittitas County
$330,384
Ellensburg
Lakehaven Utility District
$368,411
Federal Way
Lincoln County
$252,493
Davenport
LOTT Clean Water Alliance
$352,120
Olympia
Mason County
&499,500
Shelton
Model Irrigation District 18
$40,500
Spokane Valley
Okanogan County
$500,000
Okanogan
Port of Longview
$45,744
Port of Seattle
$384,450
Port of Tacoma
$197,532
Samaritan Healthcare
$214,535
Moses Lake
Skagit County
$103,419
Mount Vernon
Spokane County
$500,000
Spokane
Thurston County
$189,125
Olympia
Whitman Hospital & Medical Center
$500,000
Colfax
Total
$8,620,485
Local Governments Small Cities and Towns
Award
City of Blaine
$500,000
City of Buckley
$325,000
City of Mabton
$68,229
City of Pateros
$500,000
City of Royal City
$244,812
City of Tenino
$300,000
City of Ruston
$24,750
Total
$1,962,791
The grants were awarded through a competitive process and must be used solely for energy and operational cost saving improvements. Projects for the second round of funding were selected from 60 grant applications requesting a total of more than $23 million.
For more information, visit the Energy Efficiency page on the Department of Commerce website.
Editor's Note: Information from the state Department of Commerce.
