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Tampa seeks U.S. grant to go green

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE cwade@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 20, 2009

TAMPA - The federal government is opening its wallet, and Tampa is ready to spend.

City officials are preparing to submit paperwork for a $3.7 million grant to be used to replace aging heating and cooling systems at police headquarters and old city hall.

The money will come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which earmarked more than $3.2 billion - $170 million of it for Florida - for energy projects.

"We are hoping to get this money as soon as possible so we can get some of these projects under way," said Thomas Snelling, who oversees Tampa's "green policy" initiatives. Snelling said the city has received preliminary approval for the funding.

Tampa plans to use more than $1.1 million to retrofit city parking garages with energy efficient lights and about $1.9 million to replace incandescent traffic lights with LED signals using up to 80 percent less energy.
Snelling said $70,000 will go to study Tampa's carbon footprint and measure levels of greenhouse gases the city is emitting.

To get the money, governments must submit applications for "shovel-ready" projects to improve energy efficiency and lower energy use and fossil fuel emissions.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679.

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