Anderson County receives $18,000 clean energy grant

Anderson County has received an $18,000 state clean energy grant.

The project will consist of an LED lighting upgrade at the county’s Fleet Service Facility, Highway Facility, and Dickens Building, according to information from the state. The existing lights currently consume 160,200 kilowatts annually, and the new lights are estimated to reduce that energy usage by 35 percent—or 56,064 kilowatts on an annual basis.

The project will use the latest technology in LED lighting, and it is estimated that it will reduce 38 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO_2) equivalents from the atmosphere per year, the information said. Over the lifetime of the project, the county is estimated to save nearly $144,000.

This project has been a high priority for the county for the last three years.

The grant was announced by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau as part of more than $1 million in grants for energy efficiency projects.

“These projects will help our communities reach their long-term fiscal goals and protect the air we breathe,” Haslam said. “I’m grateful to all of the applicants for their efforts and look forward to seeing the great things they’ll accomplish with the additional savings.”

Thirteen Clean Tennessee Energy Grants were awarded to local governments and municipalities, utilities, and state entities to implement projects designed to reduce air emissions, improve energy efficiency, and create cost savings, a press release said.

Specifically, the projects focus on:

• Cleaner Alternative Energy—biomass, geothermal, solar, wind
• Energy Conservation—lighting, HVAC improvements, improved fuel efficiency, insulation, idling minimization
• Air Quality Improvement—reduction in greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, oxides of nitrogen, hazardous air pollutants

“This year’s applicants have proposed creative energy efficiency programs designed to decrease emissions and reduce expenses at the local level,” TDEC Commissioner Bob Martineau said. “We will continue to look for ways to promote environmental awareness and energy efficiency within state government and in Tennessee communities.”

Funding for the projects comes from an April 2011 Clean Air Act settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority. Under the Consent Decree, Tennessee received $26.4 million during the past five years to fund clean air programs in the state. TDEC has used the funding to reimburse grantees for a variety of innovative projects to reduce environmental impacts and operating costs at sites of new construction, redevelopment projects, and sites with aging infrastructure.

The maximum grant amount per project is $250,000 and requires a match from the applicant. Grant recipients were chosen based on the careful consideration to meet the selection criteria and for those projects that expressed the greatest need.

For questions, please visit https://tn.gov/environment/article/grants-clean-tennessee-energy-grants or contact Kathy Glapa at (615) 253-8780 or [email protected].

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