An amendment to the Keystone XL Pipeline bill co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mark Warner (D-VA) passed the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.
The legislation is designed to coordinate data and information related to the access of many federal programs already in place that provide resources and financial assistance to schools to develop and cover the costs of projects related to energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy retrofitting.
“I’m proud that Maine schools would now have improved access to the resources available to help increase energy efficiency and cut costs,” Collins said. “With the savings from this increased efficiency, more of our school’s financial resources could be dedicated where they should be – in the classroom helping students learn.”
The existing opportunities are not promoted well and are peppered across various government agencies at different levels, making it difficult for schools to identify and access them. If the legislation becomes law, the responsibility to clean up and improve communication on these opportunities, and promote them to the schools will be delegated to the U.S. Department of Energy.
“I am pleased that the Senate has approved our legislation to help schools take advantage of federal incentives to improve energy efficiency and save taxpayers money,” Warner added. “We are all paying the bills for the energy our schools use, so let’s make sure we do it in the most efficient way possible.”