Gov. Beshear announced Wednesday that 13 organizations are receiving grant funding under the 2011 settlement agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

The recipients include education, housing, agricultural and economic development organizations and projects.     

“These projects represent many innovative initiatives in schools, universities, private industry, agriculture, non-profits, and local government and will help us to further the state’s energy and environmental goals, and provide long-term benefits to the citizens of the Commonwealth,” said Gov. Beshear.  “Many of the projects build upon existing programs that have already demonstrated the value of investments in energy efficiency technologies and practices.”

The settlement is a result from alleged violations of the Clean Air Act that requires TVA to invest in new and upgraded state-of-the-art pollution controls that will reduce pollution, save energy and protect public health and the environment. More information on the settlement can be found at http://www.epa.gov.

As part of the settlement, Kentucky will receive $11.2 million over a five-year period to implement environmental mitigation projects. The school and projects or programs that have received grants are:

 

  • Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA): KSBA is awarded $700,000 to support the School Energy Managers Project in school districts in and adjacent to the TVA service counties. Based on actual progress of the program to date, the project expects to produce $2.4 million in annual energy cost avoidance by FY 2016.
  • Fayette County Public Schools: Fayette County Public Schools is awarded $335,000 to support completion of the integrated live energy metering project. The project comprises live energy monitoring equipment, live data analysis software, and a district-wide public-facing energy and sustainability education portal. The completed project will save more than $1.1 million a year in energy costs and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 11,000 tons per year.
  • Bowling Green Independent Schools: Bowling Green Independent Schools is awarded $34,000 to purchase and install a solar thermal domestic hot water system for the school kitchen as well as a solar photovoltaic system to offset a portion of the total building energy. In addition to saving over 140 Mbtu/year of fossil fuel heating, the systems will be incorporated into the school’s science curriculum as teaching tools.