Dive Brief:
- Twenty-six local governments, school districts and public higher education institutions in Washington State will share $14.3 million in grant funding for energy-efficient building retrofits, the state Department of Commerce said last month.
- Washington awarded the funds through its Energy Efficiency Retrofits for Public Buildings Grants program, which provides competitive funding for energy-efficient improvements at public buildings and facilities like schools, hospitals, community centers, affordable housing communities and wastewater treatment plants, according to the state Department of Commerce.
- The selected projects have “strong savings-to-investment ratios and include operations and maintenance plans to ensure long-term success and sustainability” while enhancing occupant comfort, reducing building emissions and improving operational cost-efficiency, the Department of Commerce said.
Dive Insight:
School districts dominate the recipient list provided by the Washington State Department of Commerce, but medical systems, criminal justice facilities and other public entities are also represented:
- The Eatonville School District received $1 million for “HVAC system optimization with air balancing and lighting enhancements,” according to local news site The Dispatch.
- The Sunnyside School District received nearly $664,000 for unspecified building improvements, according to the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.
- Benton County received $406,000 to improve HVAC system controls as part of a larger project to install a central chilled water system and modernize the air handling units at its criminal justice center, county spokesperson Katie DoValle told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.
- Olympic Medical Center received $1 million to replace 50-year-old boilers, according to Peninsula Daily News.
A previous round of energy efficiency retrofit grants authorized in 2021 supported a similar range of projects, including $350,000 for heating and cooling control and lighting upgrades at 18 buildings in the Federal Way School District and $350,000 for heat recovery and LED lighting upgrades at two schools in the Goldendale School District, the Washington Department of Commerce said.
The grants come as Washington State building owners work toward compliance with the state’s Clean Buildings Performance Standards, which take effect on June 1, 2026, for most Tier 1 nonresidential buildings over 220,000 square feet and phase in for smaller nonresidential buildings in 2027 and 2028. A Tier 1 building is one where “the sum of nonresidential, hotel, motel and dormitory floor area exceeds 50,000 gross square feet, excluding the parking garage area,” the Washington Department of Commerce says.
The CBP standards require building owners to track energy usage over time, implement compliant operations and management programs, develop energy management plans, and meet targets for energy use intensity or cost-effective efficiency upgrades, according to the Washington Department of Commerce. Less stringent standards apply to Tier 2 multifamily buildings of any size and to nonresidential buildings between 20,000 and 50,001 square feet beginning July 1, 2027.
The Washington Department of Commerce plans to make grants totaling $25 million this year to private owners of Tier 1 buildings and more than $15.4 million to public Tier 1 and Tier 2 buildings for energy efficiency upgrades, according to a state request for applications that closed Jan. 30.
The Energy Efficiency Retrofits for Public Buildings grants are available exclusively to local governments, public higher education institutions, school districts, tribal governments and state agencies, according to the 2024 state law authorizing the funding.
The law also authorized $22.5 million for public entities to purchase and install solar energy systems. Both grant programs set aside at least 20% of funding for “eligible projects in small cities or towns with a population of 5,000 or fewer residents.”
