This Cooperative Agreement award, with a total funding amount of $19,719,298.00, was granted by the U.S. Department of Energy under the Conservation Research and Development program (CFDA 81.086). The grant was awarded to the School Board of the City of Richmond, known as Richmond Public Schools (RPS), on January 1, 2025, with a completion date of December 31, 2025.
The key objectives of this award are to: (1) address decades of underinvestment in a disadvantaged community by upgrading school facilities, leading to a healthier and safer learning environment and reducing RPS's energy burden; (2) establish a partnership with a locally-based energy services company to provide student shadowing and internship opportunities; (3) leverage local coalition partners to engage the student and local community, ensure equity, and equip citizens to understand and seek environmental justice; (4) minimize disparities in clean energy training and grow the "green collar" energy efficiency workforce; and (5) utilize tax-exempt energy efficiency savings, federal tax credits, and energy efficiency rebates to support the investment.
The award will fund a phased approach, with the first phase focused on conducting energy audits and developing a strategic plan for implementing energy improvements, and the second phase directly implementing the identified energy upgrades to achieve measurable goals of energy savings and health/safety benefits.
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