County wins EPA award, receives energy grant

The Monroe County Commissioners announced three energy-related initiatives and awards Wednesday.

The commissioners said the Curry Building, the seat of Monroe County’s administration, was recently named by the Environmental Protection Agency as being within the 90th percentile of energy-efficient buildings in the country.

The EPA awarded the building with an Energy Star Platinum certification, meaning the building is among the most environmentally friendly buildings nationwide among similar facilities.

“Monroe County is pleased to accept EPA’s Energy Star Platinum certification in recognition of our continued energy efficiency efforts,” Monroe County Commissioner Mark Stoops said in a press release. “Through this achievement, we have demonstrated our commitment to environmental stewardship while also lowering our energy costs.”

Commercial buildings that earn any EPA Energy Star certification use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

“This award will give us the incentive to continue to improve the efficiency of our buildings and our operations,” Monroe County Commissioner Iris Kiesling said.

The commissioners also announced that Monroe County has received a Community Energy Planning Program grant from the Office of Energy Development. The grant will allow for the county to receive a full audit of the energy use of all county-owned vehicles, buildings and utilities.

The goal is to use the information from the audit to identify weak spots in the county’s energy use and to focus its attention on improving energy efficiency in those areas.

Finally, the commissioners announced the creation of a new county commission, the Monroe County Environmental Quality and Sustainability Commission, which will serve in an advisory role and will offer educational outreach to the community to increase energy efficiency.

— Zach Ammerman