Monroe commissioners awarded energy grant

The Monroe County Commissioners were awarded almost $290,000 by the U.S. Department of Energy to promote community energy conservation education.

The commissioners received the grant from the Indiana Office of Energy Development. The money will be used to install solar panels on the Showers Building and energy dashboards on Monroe County Community School Corporation schools and the Bloomington Project School.

“I think this is a great project, and (we) congratulate our Grants Administrator, Ashley Skooglund, office staff and community partners who worked tirelessly to have the grant submitted so timely. We look forward to working with the students and partners to educate the community about energy conservation,” Commissioner Iris Kiesling said in a press release. “This is the right investment opportunity for our newly located offices in the Showers North Complex.”

The energy dashboards at the schools will be used by students and teachers to analyze their energy use and develop sustainability strategies and projects based on the data collected. The data will be available online for the public to view, as well.

“This grant provides an excellent opportunity for us to increase efficiency at our North Showers offices. We will be saving energy and money from the moment those panels are installed and for decades to come,” Commissioner Mark Stoops said in a press release.

— Zach Ammerman