The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is targeting nearly one-quarter of its $1.4 billion in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to investments in clean energy generation and energy conservation.
‘Since hospitals use such large amounts of energy, we need to step up our efforts to transition to clean energy technologies,’ says Eric K. Shinseki, secretary of the VA.
The VA will allocate more than $68 million to renewable sources, including solar, wind and geothermal energy, and has dedicated nearly $238 million to retrofitting existing buildings to use energy and water more efficiently.
Those efforts, planned for 16 states and Puerto Rico, include solar-powered electricity and hot water energy systems at VA hospitals in Arizona, Texas and Southern California; geothermal energy in Idaho; and wind turbines in several states.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
