Guam Community College

GCC receives ARRA grant from GEPA/GEO

In addition to the $9.5 million that Guam Community College will receive directly from the federal government under President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding, GCC also has applied for, and been awarded a $1.28 million grant from the Guam Environmental Protection Agency/Guam Energy Office’s share of ARRA funding. Guam EPA/GEO received a total of $19 million in ARRA funding to implement the ARRA State Energy Program.

The GEPA/GEO grant will allow GCC to conduct an energy audit, and install a building management system, install photovoltaic ground and street lighting, and retrofit campus buildings with energy efficient technologies. GCC and Guam EPA/GEO have entered into a memorandum of understanding in which Guam EPA/GEO will first conduct an energy audit to determine the current power consumption at GCC and the revenue that will be saved by incorporating green initiatives, and then oversee the installation of the management system, photovoltaics, and other energy efficiency components of the grant.

“This grant will provide GCC with the capability to ‘go green’ on our campus. The building management system will regulate the amounts of cool air needed throughout our buildings, and the photovoltaic lighting and other energy efficiency measures will reduce our power consumption, allowing us to save on operational costs,” said Dr. Mary Okada, GCC president. “Teaching people to be energy efficient starts by example. GCC is going to be set a positive example of ‘going green’ for our students and for the island in general, and we are grateful that Guam EPA and the Energy Office have given us this grant to be able to do that.”

GCC and Guam EPA/GEO have been working on the terms of the grant and the memorandum of understanding since December 2009.

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