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Southeast Rebuild Collaborative to Fight Energy Waste

Release Date: 04/10/2007
Contact Information: Laura Niles, (404) 562-8353, niles.laura@epa.gov

(ATLANTA – April 10, 2007) EPA Region 4 is proud to support Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina in uniting to create the Southeast Rebuild Collaborative (SRC), a partnership to promote energy efficiency among school districts, state and local governments, and colleges and universities in the member states. Through the project, these states will work as a region to collectively leverage federal programs and resources of the U.S. Department of Energy and EPA.

“There is a growing sense that savings through energy efficiency are missed because institutions are unaware of readily available support products and services in our states and federal programs such as ENERGY STAR,” said Michael Ohlsen, Chair of the SRC Executive Committee. “This partnership will help building owners take advantage of resources that help save energy and money.”

The SRC is established today through a grant from the State Technologies Advancement Collaborative (STAC) issued by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO). The grant enables states to provide best energy management practices, software, training, and technical support to institutions in the Southeast. Motivated to reduce energy waste, SRC states joined the ENERGY STAR Challenge and set a goal of improving energy efficiency by ten percent or more using the resources provided by the SRC partnership.

The SRC will make use of the tools and resources provided by this government-backed voluntary program to assist school districts, local governments, and other private and public sector organizations. The project’s goal is to reach out to 650 facilities per year throughout the life of the project.

For all participating states, the estimated benefits include a total annual energy savings of approximately $4.1 million. In total, the SRC plans to influence institutions owning approximately 49 million square feet of building space, thereby preventing the emissions of 483 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually.

The Florida Energy Office manages this multi-state effort with the support of The Cadmus Group, Inc. and other nationally recognized organizations such as the Florida Solar Energy Center and the Southface Energy Institute.

To learn more about the SRC and how you can get involved in the effort to save money and help protect the environment, visit the SRC Web site at www.southeastrebuild.org, or by calling 1-866-SRC-4999.