It’s easy to go green when somebody else is buying!
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Secretary Colin O’Mara were downstate recently to announce, as part of the statewide Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, that 21 Sussex County towns will receive federal grant funds to make improvements to municipal buildings that will save the towns an estimated total of nearly $250,000 in annual energy costs.
Projects planned with the EECBG grants include heating and cooling efficiency upgrades, energy-efficient lighting retrofits, window upgrades, insulation additions, pump upgrades, solar energy installations and a white roof project, all of which help to reduce energy consumption and lower energy bills. Benefits of these projects are twofold, in that they will also provide job opportunities for local HVAC, general and specialty contractors.
“These projects represent a smart investment in our smaller towns and provide an opportunity to strengthen and stimulate the local economy by bringing a variety of work,” said Markell. “These grants will save our local governments money and put Delawareans to work in jobs that make our buildings more energy efficient and help the environment.”
“By focusing on energy efficiency, local governments across the state will save energy, save money, reduce emissions and improve their bottom line, both long- and short-term,” added O’Mara.
Conway Gregory, town manager in Ocean View, couldn’t agree more.
“Anytime you get what amounts to be almost a half a million dollars in grant monies, it’s a boon for the town,’” said Gregory, “over the long term, even the short term. In the short term, we’ll see immediate benefits and tremendous savings in what we would have spent on energy.”
The Town of Ocean View received two grants, one Energy Formula Grant for $30,000, which they plan to use for upgrades to exterior lighting and heating and air systems in the administration building, and for lighting improvements at town hall.
They also received a $458,000 competitive grant and will be using that for solar panels on the administration building. The town is currently bidding that project out. Gregory said he is pleased that the town received the grants that they did and looks forward to the savings the town will see as a result.
South Bethany has already completed three energy-efficiency projects, said Town Manager Melvin Cusick. They have put new insulation in the garage doors of the maintenance building, installed programmable thermostats in town hall and the police station, and put new weather stripping on all their exterior doors.
Cusick said it has helped both the town, and the taxpayers – especially with a more expensive project like the garage door insulation.
“Particularly with the garage doors, which were our big-ticket item, we would have had to budget for it and use tax dollars. This way, it was fully funded by the grant and put out to bid.”
Cusick said they could use up to the total $25,000 grant monies allotted but, for now, are happy with their three completed projects.
Solar panels are in the future for the Town of Fenwick Island. The town, known for being on the local forefront of environmental responsibility, received a combined value of about $96,000 in grant funding for two different projects, said Town Manager Win Abbott. They have upgraded their heat pumps and air handlers for the administrative building and plan to get solar panels on the public works building. The new HVAC units and air handlers were installed just recently, and they are in the negotiation stages for the solar panel bid, which they received six bids on before picking a vendor and entering the negotiation phase.
Abbott sees the value in the grant money, as well, and shared his thoughts on what it means for the town.
“The town council is very grateful to take advantage of this federal grant program,” he said. “It saves the town money and demonstrates our commitment to ‘green’ programs.”
The Town of Bethany Beach also received a competitive grant for $209,357 for heat pump and water upgrades at the town’s beachside comfort station, and heat pump and lighting improvements at town hall. The towns of Selbyville, Frankford and Dagsboro received $35,000, $25,000 and $25,000, respectively, for similar improvements, such as HVAC systems and solar panel installations.
And Sussex County government also received $688,600, which they have said will help them fund the installation of what was originally planned to be an 85 kw solar energy field near the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center, on the west side of the Sussex County Airport in Georgetown. In mid-March, the county decided to upgrade that facility to 109 kw in size, noting the long-term bang-for-the-buck of an extra $100,000 in investment that will come largely from grant funds.
Each U.S. state, including Delaware, was awarded a portion of $3.2 billion in grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and through the U.S. Department of Energy, to be divided in the form of grants among its municipalities, with an aim of reducing fossil fuel energy use and to lower emissions by generating a portion of their own energy needs with renewable energy. The Delaware Energy Office has been working with municipal governments throughout the state to distribute Delaware’s share through the EECBG program.
DNREC first offered grants to cover the cost of energy audits to help identify projects that would qualify for additional funding under the program. Municipalities were eligible for awards ranging from $20,000 to $45,000, based on the size of their populations. Competitive grants were awarded in amounts ranging from $10,000 up to a maximum of $500,000 per local government.
The downstate Delaware towns receiving grants were Bethany Beach, Bethel, Blades, Bridgeville, Dagsboro, Delmar, Dewey Beach, Ellendale, Fenwick Island, Frankford, Greenwood, Henlopen Acres, Laurel, Lewes, Millsboro, Milton, Ocean View, Rehoboth Beach, Selbyville, Slaughter Beach and South Bethany.
Kent and New Castle counties’ EECBG grant recipients were announced recently in Camden and Delaware City.
For more information, visit http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/energy/information/Pages/EECBG_Program_Gra... online.
