Westport Awarded Green Energy Grant

The town of Westport is among 35 municipalities receiving grants for their work continuing the states march toward energy efficiency.

State Representative Jonathan Steinberg (D-Westport) was joined by other town leaders to accept the “Bright Idea” grant of $10,000 from Clean Energy Communities, a program administered through Energize Connecticut.

“Westport has been recognized once again for its leadership in pursuing energy efficiency/environmental conservation initiatives," said Rep. Steinberg. “Today's grant is simply one more example of our community's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and improving quality of life."

Between January 2010 and August 2013, Westport saved 4,549,933 kilowatt hours of electricity and 72,047 centum cubic feet of natural gas. The avoided emissions removed 2,621 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or the equivalent of taking 457 cars off the road for one year, according to a release from Rep. Steinberg’s office.

Westport qualifies for the grant by:

• Raising $3,708 for Westport Warm Up Fund by recruiting homes for the program
• High-efficiency lighting at the fire and police stations & Town Municipal Center
• "Over 1,500 homes (15 percent of the community) participated in residential programs. (An estimated  44 million pound reduction in CO2 over the next 20 years)
• 78 businesses and municipal energy saving projects completed