Schools Get Energy-Saving Face Lift
Submitted by Eric Halstvedt on September 2, 2009 - 2:32pm
A major conservation legislative victory, supported by Montana Conservation Voters and others, and led by Northern Plains Resource Council, helps put people to work, and will save schools money this year.
As students head back to school next week, they will be entering school buildings with better learning environments and lower energy bills thanks to Quick Start Energy Grants that are funding more than $500,000 in energy-saving improvements to schools throughout Flathead County.
The improvements to schools have been underway since early summer and will be completed by September 30. Workers are busy replacing windows, installing insulation, and replacing old boilers and other projects.
The Quick Start Energy Grants for Schools is a $15 million program funded through federal stimulus dollars and administered through the Montana Dept. of Commerce to help Montana school districts kick-start energy-saving planning and improvements to school buildings. This program is the result of proposed legislation to establish an energy-efficiency fund for K-12 schools introduced by Rep. Wanda Grinde (D-Billings) that ended up getting rolled into and passed under HB 645.
http://commerce.mt.gov/QuickStart/
Check out the Report that describes the need for energy efficiency improvements in public schools:
2008 Montana Schools Facility Report (see pp 27-36 Energy Use) This report illustrates that Montana schools spent more than $27 million on energy bills in 2007 the second-highest expenditure on school budgets.
http://opi.mt.gov/PDF/Facilities/Final_Report_7-1-08.pdf
Learn more about the positive affects on the ground of major energy efficiency improvements in our schools:
http://www.missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_774b0bb4-8e0f-11de-a254-001cc4c002e0.html
