The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is now accepting nominations for the 2024 Best of Green Schools Awards program, sponsored by the Center for Green Schools (part of the USGBC) and the nonprofit Green Schools National Network.
Applications are now open for a program that will award $80 million in grants to schools for implementing improvements to schools in the areas of energy efficiency, clean air, and renewable energy.
Local education agencies can now submit applications for the Energy CLASS Prize, a program that aims to "make energy management a sustainable feature of their communities while positioning them to make meaningful infrastructure improvements that will reduce utility costs, improve indoor air quality, and improve learning environments long-term." Prizes include $3.75 million in cash and an additional $750,000 in technical support.
Schools spend $8 billion on energy each year, but there are ways to save, starting with billing and consumption audits.
According to the organization that conducted new research on solar power in schools, energy is the second largest individual expense for U.S. schools after personnel.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 09/15/20
Efforts are underway to install and deploy battery energy storage systems at the schools in Downey Unified School District. The California school system will be working with ENGIE Storage to install 3.5 megawatts of energy storage at seven campus sites to capture power generated by the district's solar installation
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 09/16/19
NeoCity Academy, a new STEM magnet high school in Osceola County, FL, is the first net-zero school to open in the state. That means the school returns as much energy to the power grid as it uses each year.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 08/19/19
A school district in Oklahoma has just kicked off a project to save $2.5 million in energy costs over five years by applying technology and behavior-based conservation programs.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 07/18/18
Schools only see about a quarter of the expected savings following energy efficiency upgrades, according to a new report from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) and the E2e Project.
The Santa Paula Unified School District is undertaking upgrades that are estimated to save the district nearly $4 million over the course of the project.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has awarded PowerMyLearning, a San Francisco education nonprofit, a four-year grant to expand its personalized learning and family support initiatives in Bay Area public schools in underserved communities.
The Soledad Unified School District will install a new solar photovoltaic system projected to save $45,000 in annual energy costs.
The Huntington Beach City School District has completed the latest phase in an initiative that will save the district an estimated $16.3 million while enriching science, technology, engineering arts and math (STEAM) education for students.
California's Grossmont Union High School District will install a 1.1-megawatt solar power system estimated to save $6.3 million in electricity costs over the next two decades.
Oregon's Hillsboro School District has begun work on a $3.5 million energy savings performance contract designed to improve operational efficiency at 13 schools.