Ward Media | Kitsap Business
OLYMPIA — Two Kitsap County organizations will receive more than $2.6 million in funding through Washington’s Clean Buildings Performance Grant program to improve energy efficiency in their facilities, the state Department of Commerce announced Wednesday.
South Kitsap School District was awarded $1,998,442.35 as part of the public building grants, while Martha and Mary Health Services will receive $632,510 through the private building awards program. Both recipients are identified as being in rural or highly impacted communities, according to the Department of Commerce’s designation.
The grants are part of a larger $55.5 million statewide initiative to help building owners meet Washington’s Clean Buildings Performance Standard (CBPS), which was established in 2019 as the nation’s first statewide building performance standard. The program allocated $45 million directly to building retrofits, with an additional $14.5 million for energy audits for public building owners.
“Commerce is eager to help building owners across Washington cut energy costs while advancing our state’s clean energy future,” said Commerce Director Joe Nguyễn. “By improving energy efficiency, we’re reducing emissions, creating jobs, and ensuring that communities — especially those in rural and underserved areas — benefit from a healthier, more sustainably built environment and a stronger local economy.”
The funds support various energy-saving improvements including LED lighting upgrades, heating and cooling system modernization, smart building controls, and development of compliance documentation. The program targets buildings that are 50,000 square feet or larger, classified as Tier 1 commercial buildings under the standard.
The grants come at a critical time as buildings represent the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Washington, accounting for 25% of statewide emissions. Funding for the program comes from the Climate Commitment Act.
Statewide, seventy building owners received funding, with 21 awards going to publicly owned buildings and 49 to private building owners. More than half of the private-sector recipients are in rural or heavily impacted areas as designated by the Washington State Department of Health’s Environmental Health Disparities Map.
In 2022, Washington expanded the Clean Buildings Performance Standard to include Tier 2 buildings, which are facilities larger than 20,000 square feet and multifamily residential buildings.
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