AUSTIN, Texas — Some City of Austin facilities will soon have new energy improvements because of federal funding.
Austin Energy recently received $855,340 in federal grant money to help start and speed up energy efficiency projects in public facilities, including the Austin Public Library, Austin Public Health and Parks and Recreation Department.
More than $31 million total in grants were provided to 19 federal and local government organizations by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Office of State and Community Energy as part of the Energy Efficiency Conservancy Block Grant (EECGB).
Austin Energy's goal is to use less total energy and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions while providing more comfort in public facilities. The utility company also hopes to use the funding to help those in the area who have specific vulnerabilities.
“These funds are being used to make our municipal buildings more energy efficient, which benefits all of our customers and the community,” said Richard Génecé, vice president of Austin Energy Customer Energy Solutions. “As we lead the way on transitioning to our clean energy future and engage customers, we thought it was important to ‘walk the walk’ and ‘talk the talk’.”
The City said more than 250 million U.S. citizens have benefitted from the EECGB. Formula grants are awarded on a rolling basis as the DOE receives complete applications.
This grant funding is part of the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Austin Energy Operating Budget Special Revenue Fund. The money will be used for projects over the next two years.