NASEO joined the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as a National Partner in the newly launched Zero Energy Schools Accelerator. The Accelerator will build on the groundbreaking work of State Energy Offices such as Kentucky and California.
NASEO Executive Director, David Terry, joined DOE and experts from across the country to launch the Accelerator on December 6th at the Discovery Elementary School in Arlington, VA. The newly-opened zero energy school expects to offset all of its energy usage and save taxpayers $78,000 in its first year of operation.
State and local actions as a part of DOE’s Zero Energy Schools Accelerator have the potential to save taxpayers about 25 percent of the $8 billion spent on school utility expenses, it also puts the focus on K-12 schools, which are an integral part of any community, and can serve as a model for other new construction.
The accelerator goal is to make zero energy K-12 schools more mainstream. Partner school districts commit to developing their own zero energy plans for a K-12 district project and will leverage support from DOE and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Interested State Energy Offices should contact NASEO’s Todd Sims at tsims@naseo.org.