More than $26 million in TVA settlement funds will help the state buy electric cars and rework several buildings to reduce energy costs and air pollution, reports The Tennessean.
A new Clean Tennessee Energy Grant Program, also, is available to local governments, businesses and other groups for amounts of up to $250,000.
“Increasing energy efficiency in state government will help us be even better stewards of both taxpayer dollars and our environment,” Gov. Bill Haslam said in an emailed announcement Wednesday
. “These projects will benefit Tennesseans on both fronts, and I look forward to implementing additional projects as we move forward.”
The funding comes from a Clean Air Act settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority last April that ended a series of lawsuits over pollution from its coal-burning power plants. Tennessee will receive about $5.25 million a year for five years. In the first year, $2.25 million will go for air quality grants, and $3 million will pay for energy efficiency projects in state government.