Four million dollars is available under the P-12 Schools: Green and Clean Energy Solutions program to reduce energy use and assist with the conversion to carbon free energy solutions for schools serving Pre-kindergarten through Grade 12 students.

The program supports the State’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050 and the Green New Deal, considered by some to be the most aggressive climate and clean energy program in the nation.

The program is part of NYSERDA’s P-12 Schools Initiative that encourages schools to lower energy use and utility bills while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the leading contributor to climate change. The P-12 Schools Initiative helps schools pursue carbon savings and clean energy projects. Organizers say the P-12 Benchmarking Program, launched in April 2019, has already served over 250 schools.

The P-12 Schools: Green and Clean Energy Solutions program offers up to $250,000 for energy studies to reduce energy loads as well as up to another $250,000 for design assistance for the installation of clean heating and cooling systems. Schools are also eligible for direct incentives for the installation of measures that reduce the building’s energy use through eligible mechanical, equipment and building envelope efficiency efforts.

Schools participating in the program will receive complimentary services including free benchmarking and free clean heating and cooling screenings. Benchmarking serves as a tool to measure and track the impact of financial investments against energy use and greenhouse gas emissions to better understand and improve their energy efficiency and performance.

Currently, there are more than 6,000 public and private schools in New York State. Together, these schools spend roughly $1 billion in annual energy costs while producing approximately 5.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide or other harmful greenhouse gases. P-12 Schools: Green and Clean Energy Solutions focuses on identifying load reduction and decarbonization opportunities and is available to publicly or privately-owned buildings that provide P-12 education in one of the six electric investor-owned New York State utility company territories. Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis dependent on resource availability until December 31, 2022.

For more information and to apply to this program, visit NYSERDA’s website.