FYI – City of Lynchburg Receives $740,000 for Energy Efficiency and Conservation

Senator Jim Webb today announced that the City of Lynchburg will receive a $740,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) from the Department of Energy.  The funding has been made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The grant is awarded to communities that have submitted tangible plans to improve energy efficiency and reduce their energy use. 

“This grant will support the City of Lynchburg’s effort to become more energy efficient and ultimately reduce future energy costs for taxpayers,” said Senator Webb. “I am pleased that the initiative and long-term planning of Lynchburg’s community leaders were rewarded with this competitive grant.”

"Receiving this grant will further our progress in making Lynchburg a more sustainable City,” said Bonnie Svrcek, Deputy City Manager and Acting Director of Community Development. “Utilizing these funds to improve energy efficiency will contribute greatly to long-term sustainable energy savings for our City.  Without these funds, the City would not be able to implement these initiatives.”

The City of Lynchburg’s efficiency plan includes:

• Hiring 1 full-time or 2 part-time energy mechanics to implement the City's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy to perform a preliminary audit of major City buildings and implement simple, low-cost energy conservation methods.  Energy savings of 10% are anticipated within the first eighteen months of installation.
• Improving Heating and Air Conditioning Systems at the Main Library. This work will include review by an engineering firm of proposed HVAC upgrades to confirm efficiency gains and develop improvements on the existing design to achieve a targeted minimum reduction of 20% in facility heating and ventilation costs.
• Converting of traffic signals, street lights and message board to more energy efficient technologies.
• Low-cost energy conservation methods include conversion of building lighting to energy efficient lighting, installation of programmable thermostats and occupancy sensors, etc.