College wins part of $6.5 million grant to improve energy efficiency on campus

1600 building houses the Theatre
Photo courtesy SCC

Shoreline Community College will reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of 10,000 lbs per year thanks to a State Performance Improvement (SPI) grant awarded to the College by the State of Washington. 

The College is one of 16 state agencies and institutions that secured part of the SPI money, which is designated for projects that will result in higher efficiency and better environmental performance in state-owned buildings. 

Shoreline received $249,912 in grant funding.

Jason Francois, Director of Facilities and Capital Projects for the College, applied for the funding to help shift the College from a reliance on fossil fuels to natural gas. “Sustainability is of utmost importance to the College,” said Francois. “We’re thankful this grant will allow us to continue to make strides in our environmental stewardship.”

The College will focus its portion of the grant money on increasing energy efficiency in the 1600 building, which houses the campus theater.

“The funding will allow us to add controls, ducting, and better air distribution methods to make heating the 1600 building far more efficient,” said Francois. “Both the modern equipment and the better delivery of heated air will combine to reduce energy consumption in the 1600 building by almost 50%.”

The improvements created by the SPI grant are estimated to garner about $11 million in savings and reduce carbon emissions by 120,429 tons over the lifetime of the facility.

Learn more about Shoreline’s programs.