Fayette County Public Schools has been awarded $335,000 to help finish an integrated live-energy metering project, which includes monitoring equipment, live data analysis software and a districtwide, public-facing energy and sustainability education portal.
The completed project is expected to save more than $1.1 million a year in energy costs and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 11,000 tons per year.
“We’ll have a system that pulls live data in from all schools similar to the Green Touch Screens at Locust Trace AgriScience Farm and Wellington Elementary, but with more customization and ease of operation. It will truly revolutionize the ability to be proactive rather than reactive with our energy-efficiency measures,” said Britney Thompson, energy and sustainability manager for FCPS.
Kentucky Utilities and Siemens will collaborate with the school district during the three-year phased implementation and have committed matching dollars, according to Thompson.
FCPS is among 13 organizations to receive funding under the 2011 settlement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
The settlement, which resulted from alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, requires TVA to invest in new and upgraded state-of-the-art controls that will reduce pollution, save energy and protect public health and the environment.
Kentucky will receive $11.2 million over a five-year period for mitigation projects.
Other grant recipients include education, housing, agricultural and economic development groups.
Among them is the Kentucky School Boards Association, which was awarded $700,000 to support the School Energy Managers Project in school districts in and adjacent to the TVA service counties.
Based on progress to date, the project expects to produce $2.4 million in annual energy savings by FY 2016.
For more about energy efficiency and sustainability efforts in FCPS, click here.
