District News 2010-2011 Archive

Share|

GCS Receives $30,000 Energy Conservation Grant
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
Guilford County Schools has received a $30,000 grant from the City of Greensboro to support its Energy WISE conservation program. Energy WISE, which stands for Wisdom Is Saving Energy and the Environment, is a pilot program to encourage and reward schools that promote energy education and limit electricity consumption. GCS spends approximately $22 million annually in energy costs.

The Energy Efficiency Education and Demonstration Challenge Grant, also known as the E3 grant, was created by the City of Greensboro using federal dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Applicants were scored on selection criteria including energy efficiency, collaboration, impact and design.

Energy WISE uses school-based, student-led teams to assess, educate and monitor energy usage, giving “thank-yous” or “tickets” during the monitoring process. Schools will compete in the WISE Guy challenge, which rewards teams that show the greatest reduction in monthly energy costs compared to previous years. Teams can possibly win more than $1,000 for their school based on a point-award system recognizing completed energy activities.

“This grant is vital to our ability to implement the Energy WISE program effectively,” says Alicia Strange, energy engineer with Guilford County Schools. “By making small adjustments and changing the way our students and staff think about their energy usage, we hope to make a big impact on the environment as well as on our expenses.”

The Center for Energy Research and Technology (CERT) at North Carolina A&T State University has also donated goods and services valued at $20,000 to help support the program. Collaboration with community groups was a key factor the city’s grant evaluation. The CERT partnership has provided Guilford County Schools with broad-based support and assistance for the development and implementation of the energy conservation program.

The Energy WISE program began in January and will culminate with an awards ceremony in May. For more information, contact Energy Engineer Alicia Strange at 275-2065.

< Return to previous page