Posted on December 10, 2020 at 1:45 p.m.
The Palmerton Area School District receives a US $ 250,000 government grant for a window and exterior door replacement project at its high school.
The project was one of eleven projects across the state selected by the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority for the COVID-19 Restart Grants. These include energy efficiency, solar power, high-performance buildings, and electric vehicle charging that were stopped by the pandemic.
Palmerton hopes to replace just over 150 windows in a guaranteed energy-saving project at the high school. Penn Builders Inc. was hired for the job in February. The district had hoped to graduate the installation over the next two summers, but put the brakes on the project after the COVID-19 hit. The project also includes the replacement of exterior doors and insulated panels.
“We are very proud to be one of only two school districts in the state selected to receive this grant funding,” said Dr. Jodi Frankelli, Superintendent of Palmerton. “As a district, we’ve worked hard to be fiscally responsible during the current pandemic. Since we had to allocate funds to ensure that our students and teachers had the necessary technical resources to be successful during hybrid and distance learning, major construction projects were put on hold. The restart grant funding of the Pa. Energy Development Authority will provide financial assistance to assist the district in completing one of these projects. “
The window replacement would move the high school from single pane to double pane windows and match junior high, which was completed a few years ago.
“It will reduce drafts and improve thermal comfort in the classrooms,” said Alyssa Wingenfield, Account Executive at McClure Company, in a meeting earlier this year.
The project aims to reduce the school’s energy use by more than 6%, or an estimated 541 MMBtu per year, to generate savings of more than $ 94,000 over a 20 year period. The energy saving aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32 tons.
“We look forward to continuing our high school construction project so that we can install energy efficient windows and doors throughout the school,” said Frankelli. “This project will not only improve our infrastructure, it will also give the district the opportunity to reduce its energy consumption. We believe that the reduction in energy costs for the district combined with the additional benefits to our environment will make this construction project a win-win for everyone involved. “
Five companies, two municipalities, two school districts, and two non-profit organizations received grants for a variety of construction and transportation projects that had either been grounded before the disruption of the pandemic or were at an advanced stage of planning.
Grants can help hire or hire additional manpower to complete the project quickly, make immediate equipment payments for restarting the supply chain, and most importantly, restart a project that is otherwise unlikely to be completed due to the disruption caused by the pandemic would.
“We are excited to restart these outstanding clean energy and energy efficiency projects,” said Patrick McDonnell, Secretary of State for Environmental Protection in Pennsylvania. “In addition to supporting current and new jobs to aid Pennsylvania’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, they will help improve air quality in their communities by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing grid energy waste and demand . “
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