Following the Energy Money: Schools Likely to See DOE Dollars, But Being Proactive is Key

Washington, May 19 — As state and local governments devise energy efficiency and conservation strategies required under a new multi-billion block grant program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the federal government accepted state applications for another initiative that could send even more energy money to schools: the State Energy Program (SEP).

Unlike the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant , a $3.2 billion U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiative funded for the first time under the stimulus law, the SEP — which got a $3.1 billion ARRA infusion — evolved from two Nixon-era state energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. One of those older funding streams, for institutional conservation projects, was aimed at helping schools and hospitals identify savings from energy conservation, said Mark Bailey, state and local team leader with DOE's Office of Weatherization and Intergovernmental programs.

Bailey and Johanna Zetterberg, who is heading up EECBG, provided schoolgrants2009.com with an exclusive update on how these ARRA dollars are being allocated and how schools might benefit.