Late last year the Energy Office solicited proposals for energy efficiency and conservation projects from local governments, public school systems and community colleges. Prior to the solicitation, the Energy Office provided any of these agencies that requested it, free technical assistance to do energy efficiency studies, develop energy use and conservation plans and assist in completing grant applications. The designated assistance firms responded to 245 requests for assistance.
The final deadline for the solicitations was last week, and the office was swamped. We had 99 responses from local government and 61 from public schools and community colleges. That brought the total, since the initial request for proposals went out, to 137 from cities and counties and another 96 from schools and community colleges. Clearly, these 233 proposals show energy efficiency and conservation are a key concern and officials understand that it both will provide for best use of resources, but also help put taxpayer dollars to their best use.
A total of $7.2 million is available to local government agencies and $6.3 million to public schools and community colleges and the Energy Office is already putting some of those dollars to work. Through the use of rolling deadlines for the solicitation, more than $1.6 million has been awarded to six local governments, four public school systems and two community colleges.
Agencies have been creative in their proposals, looking to stretch the funds as much as possible and providing collaboration between federal, state and local agencies to create green jobs in North Carolina.