Feds award $150M for energy clean energy projects

Twenty-eight states will soon receive almost $150 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to fund 67 clean energy and conservation initiatives.

The projects will span across 28 states and territories and six international locations as part of the second and final installment of the $250 million Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies, or AFFECT, grant program.

The projects are part of President Joe Biden's goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from all federal buildings by 2045.

The department said the program could save taxpayers $41.7 million annually in energy costs.

"It is imperative that Federal facilities are able to operate in the face of increasingly intense extreme weather events, and the Biden-Harris Administration is leading by example through its support of energy resiliency and building efficiency measures," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in the press release. "Today's announcement will empower Federal facilities across the United States to upgrade critical infrastructure with cutting-edge, cost-effective technologies they need to improve reliability while saving taxpayers money."

Some projects selected include one Montana federal building and courthouse that will repurpose abandoned mining caves' groundwater for a geothermal heating and cooling system to replace existing gas boilers.

The department’s national laboratory in California will expand solar panel capacity and boost battery energy storage, while a Maryland Coast Guard yard will minimize on-site fossil fuel usage with a ground-source heat pump solution.

Five of the approved federal projects will eliminate on-site fossil fuel use, according to the release, and a military fort in south Texas facing chronic water scarcity will create a self-sustaining water system.

Additionally, the 67 projects are expected to offer the following benefits: reducing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the number of gas-powered vehicles on the road, which is at least 19,370 a year.

Additional expected energy savings are equivalent to powering 35,701 homes a year while conserving 1 billion gallons of water per year, generating carbon pollution-free electricity, ensuring 100% of projects comply with Made in America, and supporting 20 projects located in or close to disadvantaged communities creating jobs while driving local economic development.

The projects are funded by President Biden's $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to minimize the Federal Government's carbon footprint.