Bentley Awards $1.4 Million to Help Local Governments Save Money by Cutting Energy Costs | News

MONTGOMERY, AL - Gov. Robert Bentley has awarded grants totaling almost $1.4 million to help 11 cities and counties save energy and reduce utility bills by upgrading equipment and making other improvements to their facilities.

The grants are awarded as part of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program. The program helps governments and nonprofit groups improve the energy efficiency of buildings and equipment.

“These improvements are a wise economic and environmental investment,” Bentley said. “In addition to providing work for construction professionals, the energy-saving steps we take today will save local governments and taxpayers thousands of dollars in the future.”

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grants from funds made available by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Some of the governments receiving the grants are:

· Barbour County: $65,343 to install energy efficient windows in the county courthouse in Clayton. The windows are tinted and double-paned to retain more cool air in the summer and warm air in the winter.

· Eufaula: $100,000 for replacement of four heating and air conditioning units at the city’s Community Center. The city also will install programmable thermostats in the center.

· Phenix City: $250,000 to replace 487 lighting fixtures in the Central Activities Center with a system that uses energy-efficient compact fluorescent 

The county also will use a $350,000 loan from ADECA’s Local Government Energy Loan Program to upgrade the courthouse’s heating, air conditioning and ventilation equipment to more efficient models. The program offers zero-interest-rate loans to help municipal and county governments, K-12 schools, colleges and universities pay the up-front costs of energy-saving improvements. Loan recipients are required to repay the funds in periodic installments within 10 years.