by KERRY ZIMMERMAN
Intern News Reporter

The Department of Energy (DOE) awarded North Carolina $20.9 million in stimulus grants for energy efficiency and conservation projects.

The grants will help North Carolina implement programs that will lower energy use, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create green jobs, according to a Sept. 18 DOE press release.

The state will focus on increasing energy efficiency of buildings and finance programs to recapture the greenhouse gas methane to create electricity.

“I think the grant is a fabulous thing,” Patrick A. Beville, Appalachian State University design and construction project manager said.
Some faculty members at Appalachian have written grant proposals to the state for energy program funds.

Beville worked on two projects he thinks are good candidates for the grant.

“Both of the projects I worked on were solar thermal systems,” he said. “One was...for [Appalachian] Panhellenic Hall, and the other was a solar thermal system for the Broyhill Inn [& Conference Center].”

The systems are intended to save on utility costs for the university.

“Solar thermal is one of the primary natural resources to capitalize on,” Beville said.

Together, the two grant proposal funds total more than $200,000. But DOE regulations for grant proposals rule each proposal will finance half of a project’s cost at a public level.

“It was a 50 percent match for public entities, such as the university,” Beville said. “It was only a 25 percent match for private entities.”

He said the university was happy to match the funds.

“Appalachian State University is a leader in renewable energy: research and application,” he said.

Physical Plant Director Michael O’Connor said the university has continually worked to become more energy efficient.

Sept. 29 marks the completion of Appalachian’s $5.3 million Energy Savings Performance Contract that will save the university more than $600,000 in energy per year. The contract will fund installation of various energy-saving technologies across campus.

“We’re going to be saving quite a bit of money,” O’Connor said. “And more importantly than the money is the energy and the carbon footprint associated with that energy.”

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