CUB receives $200,000 Clean Tennessee Energy Grant

The Clinton Utilities Board has received a $200,000 Clean Tennessee Energy Grant to renovate its wastewater treatment plant.

CUB was one of 19 recipients receiving $2.1 million for projects promoting energy efficiency, benefiting the environment, and helping save money, Tennessee officials said this month.

In a check presentation ceremony in June, Gov. Bill Haslam came to Oak Ridge to announce that the Secret City had received the first of the 19 awards.

The CUB grant will be used to renovate the wastewater treatment plant with new diffusers, blowers, and electrical and piping systems, Haslam and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau said in a press release this month.

Replacing the plant’s aeration system could save the equivalent of $60 per day in electrical costs, for a total of $21,900 annually, TDEC said. It will also reduce the plant’s “carbon intensity” and provide air emission reductions of about 1,613 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Oak Ridge’s money will be used to replace and retrofit existing fluorescent lighting fixtures to LED lighting in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building and Civic Center Complex.

“This project will enhance the actual lighting, save electricity, make the buildings more energy efficient and reduce electric energy usage by approximately 250,000 kilowatt-hours per year,” TDEC said. “This is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 147 passenger vehicles, carbon dioxide emissions from 78,998 gallons of gasoline consumed, and carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity use of 105 homes for one year.”

Funding for the projects comes from an April 2011 Clean Air Act settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority. Under the TVA settlement, Tennessee will receive $26.4 million during a five-year period to fund clean air programs in the state at a cost of about $5.25 million per year

The money funds energy efficiency projects for local governments and municipalities, utilities, and other private and public organizations across Tennessee.

“I am proud to see the commitment across the state at the local level to implement projects aimed at energy efficiency and reducing costs to taxpayers,” Haslam said. “The projects announced today highlight these local efforts as we continue our work to make Tennessee the best place to live, work and raise a family.”