The Washington State Department of Commerce announced nearly $8 million in grants to create jobs and to help seven higher education institutions lower their energy costs. Bellevue College was awarded $1,185,000 toward HVAC (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning) equipment and controls replacement and repair and North Campus parking lighting improvements. Bellevue College received the largest award this round and maximized its total potential award at $2 million including the first round award.
“These energy and water saving measures are expected to save each higher education institution as much as $150,000 annually,” said Commerce Deputy Director Dan McConnon. “That puts money directly back into higher education at a time when budgets are tight.”
The 2012 Legislature appropriated $20 million for higher education and $18 million for local governments, including a specific set aside of at least 10 percent for small cities or towns (populations of 5,000 or less). This is the third round of awards. Higher education and local government recipients were announced in August 2012 and March 2013.
The grants were awarded through a competitive process and must be used solely for energy and operational cost saving improvements. Projects for the third round of funding were selected from 10 grant applications requesting a total of more than $11 million.
Together, all three award rounds will create an estimated 1,064 jobs and total project costs of $132 million, including $90 million in non-state funding.
For more information, visit the Energy Efficiency page on the Commerce website.
Last Updated January 14, 2014