MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury College last week received a grant of $137,000 to do thermal energy retrofits on three campus buildings.
The Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund announced the recipients of $1.7 million in grants on June 16. The college was among 14 public-serving institutions — defined as hospitals, colleges, universities and government buildings — in the state to receive a grant. The money comes from federal economic stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and was allocated to the institutions to encourage renewable energy and efficiency.
The matched grant will fund approximately half of the retrofits, which will improve energy efficiency by enhancing attic and roof insulation in the three buildings. Project manager Mark Gleason said that the plans are not yet complete, but the retrofits would have to be completed before the summer of 2012, since the grant has a time limit of two years.
“We’ve got a pretty full plate this summer, so it’s not going to happen this summer,” said Gleason.
The three buildings that will get energy retrofits are older ones on the campus — Old Chapel, built in 1836, Twilight Hall, built in 1867, and Sunderland Hall, built in 1965.
Gleason said that although there were no estimates yet on how much the retrofits would increase the energy efficiency of each building, the intent is that the building upgrades will cut down on energy use and spending in the long run.
Reporter Andrea Suozzo is at [email protected].