LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville-based Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center helped Kentucky’s schools and businesses save money and become more energy-efficient through its first-year use of federal stimulus dollars.
University, state and federal officials announced the achievements today during the center’s open house in Burhans Hall on the Shelby Campus at ShelbyHurst. KPPC is a part of UofL’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering.
“This is further proof of the University of Louisville’s commitment to our community and state,” UofL President James Ramsey said. “We’re helping schools and businesses across Kentucky save energy and money while benefiting our economy, education system and environment.”
The achievements came during the first of two years of $8.1 million in federal stimulus money that expanded KPPC’s services. The money comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the U.S. Department of Energy. KPPC administers programs for businesses and schools through a partnership with the Kentucky Department for Energy Development and Independence. Among highlights that KPPC Executive Director Cam Metcalf announced were:
—The school program, Kentucky Energy Efficiency Program for Schools, did 34 on-site assessments and identified $634,973 in potential annual savings for school districts. KPPC helped 40 district energy managers do utility bill analyses, which led to refunds, reimbursements or credits of more than $200,000 back to school districts. Although they increased in facility size and population from 2009 to 2010, the 97 districts that submitted data for both years lowered total energy usage and cut the average annual energy cost per student. The annual report shows that 153 of 174 public school districts actively participate in the energy-saving program and all are enrolled in the program.
—The business program, the Environmental Sustainability Program, served 82 industrial and commercial clients and did 37 on-site assessments which identified potential annual savings of $961,962. That same program also supports the Kentucky Save Energy Now initiative, through which 20 industries and organizations last year pledged to cut their annual energy use by 2.5 percent for the next decade to achieve a 25 percent reduction. KPPC engineers work with the Kentucky Save Energy Now participants to help them build self-sustaining energy programs to achieve their goals.
—With federal funding, KPPC also created 28 new “green” jobs to support the programs.
For more information, contact Sandy Denham at 502-852-7361 or sandy.denham@louisville.edu or check www.kppc.org