PORT ANGELES ― Peninsula College is due to receive nearly $2 million in grant funding from the state Department of Commerce to upgrade energy systems in branch facilities in Port Townsend and Forks.
Peninsula College’s award amounts include $692,374 for the East Jefferson County Extension Site at Fort Worden in Port Townsend and $1,307,114 for the Forks Extension Site.
The money will be available after the state Legislature passes a capital budget, said Phyllis Van Holland, Peninsula College spokeswoman.
“We don’t anticipate a problem,” in receiving the money, she said.
The grant — which must be used solely for energy and operational cost saving improvements — will fund new heating and cooling systems with climate controls, Van Holland said.
The money must be spent within the next biennium — by 2015. No start date has been set, Van Holland said.
Deborah Frazier, vice president of administrative services said the money will fund “energy management systems that allow for optimal energy efficiency, consistent with the college commitment to environmentally sustainable buildings and minimized operating costs.”
Peninsula College is “is committed to energy efficiency and sustainability,” said College President Luke Robins.
“We’re very excited to receive this funding,” Robins said.
“We’ve applied this commitment to new buildings on our Port Angeles campus, and these grants will allow us to achieve similar goals at our instructional sites in Forks and Port Townsend.
“These projects will also bring direct economic benefit to both communities throughout the construction process.”
Peninsula College was one of six colleges to receive grants during the competitive award cycle, Van Halloand said.
It received the largest amount of all of the higher education institutions, she added.
The Commerce’s Energy Efficiency Grant program’s immediate goal is to stimulate Washington state’s economy by creating jobs.
The long-term goal is to reduce energy costs at the state’s public higher education institutions and local government facilities.
The state estimates that 121 jobs will be created statewide by construction spending on the projects.
The total cost for all the projects in this round of funding is about
$15 million, including more than $6 million in non-state funding.
This is the third round of awards.