The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) released a Request for Information (RFI) to help decide how best to spend $500 million from the recently passed federal infrastructure law for K-12 public school energy upgrades.
The law makes available grants for energy improvements that result in a direct reduction in school energy costs, including improvements to the air conditioning and heating, ventilation, hot water heating, and lighting systems. Funding would also support renovation and repairs that lead to an improvement in teacher and student health.
Many schools are in desperate need of energy improvements, according to a DOE news release. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s 100,000 public K-12 schools a D+ in their 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure report.
“Dilapidated school facilities can negatively affect student learning and health as indoor air quality problems can aggravate respiratory illnesses, reduce student and teacher attendance and performance, and increase risk of transmission of respiratory infections like COVID-19,” the release says.
DOE encourages local education agencies, school staff, states, local governments, energy service companies, unions, service providers, and utilities to respond to the RFI. The deadline for submissions is May 18, 2022.
Related Stories
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
| May 8, 2014
Infographic: 4 most common causes of construction site fatalities
In honor of Safety Week, Skanska put together this nifty infographic on how to prevent deadly harm in construction.
| Apr 30, 2014
House Appropriations Committee approves $3 billion cut for military construction
The Army would see the sharpest cuts on a percentage basis, with a $578 million, or 52% reduction in FY 2015.
| Apr 23, 2014
California bill would make employers responsible for subcontractors' wages, workers' comp
Under the recently revised Assembly Bill 1897, employers would have to pay wages, taxes, and workers compensation on behalf of a subcontractor’s workers if the subcontractor reneges on that responsibility.
| Apr 23, 2014
Obama’s 2015 budget includes $1.7 billion to GSA for building construction, renovations
The Obama Administration has proposed $1.7 billion for construction, renovation, and repairs to federal buildings in fiscal year 2015 under the auspices of the U.S. General Services Administration.
| Mar 19, 2014
Ohio Senate passes rule to require state agencies use ANSI standards rather than LEED
The resolution specifically mentions LEED v4, and calls for the U.S. Green Building Council to conform to ANSI.
| Mar 18, 2014
Canadian wood industry pushes for ‘wood first’ legislation on mid-rise public projects
The wood lobby is pushing Canadian provinces to pass “wood first” legislation specifying wood framed structures as the default for mid-rise public works projects where warranted.
| Mar 6, 2014
AIA and almost 1,000 other businesses oppose effort to repeal energy efficiency bill
This opposition comes in response to reports that the oil and gas lobby pushed to include a repeal of Section 433 of the Energy Independence and Security Act in the bipartisan Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill.
| Mar 5, 2014
Obama proposes $1 billion for climate change risk mitigation
President Barack Obama would spend $1 billion to “better understand the projected impacts of climate change,” encourage local action to reduce future risk, and fund technology and infrastructure that will be more resilient to climate change.
| Mar 3, 2014
Injury-liability law responsible for higher construction insurance cost in New York
Construction contractors and developers in New York state face $3 billion more in costs and 667 more accidents per year because of a state law that holds builders solely liable for such accidents, according to a study commissioned by the New York Civil Justice Institute.
