Vice President Kamala Harris recently announced the Biden-Harris Action Plan for Building Better School Infrastructure to upgrade public schools with modern, clean, energy efficient facilities and transportation. The action plan activates the entire federal government in leveraging investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and American Rescue Plan to advance solutions including energy efficiency retrofits, electric school buses, and resilient design.
According to the release, the action plan will save schools and taxpayers money. Public K-12 districts spend roughly $8 billion a year on energy bills — the second largest expense after teacher salaries. Energy efficiency improvements to HVAC systems, lighting, insulation, and other energy upgrades aim to not only help protect the health of children, but to create significant savings to go toward students and learning. Off-the-shelf improvements can provide energy savings of 10-30% and broader upgrades can unlock even more savings for years to come – all while creating opportunities for electricians, carpenters, painters, sheet metal workers, plumbers and pipefitters, and more.
As part of the action plan, the Department of Energy (DOE) is launching a $500 million grant program through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make public schools more energy efficient. This new program hopes to lower energy costs, improve air quality, and prioritize schools most in need. This will undoubtedly create lighting opportunities for contractors.
To help schools and school districts access available funding, the White House released a toolkit with information on securing funding, technical assistance opportunities, and planning tools to help schools improve air quality, energy efficiency, and more. Within the toolkit is information on electric programs and a guide for contractors and designers that describes how to achieve deep energy savings for new construction and major renovations.
More information and resources can be found on the White House's website.
