OLYMPIA—The state will fund a $1 million project at Olympic Medical Center, part of a program lawmakers started to boost clean energy and efficiency.
“The cost of heating and cooling a building over it’s lifetime,” said Rep. Steve Tharinger (D-Port Townsend), “can often equal or exceed the original cost of construction. So these projects make a big difference, year after year. They lower costs and emissions.”
Tharinger is chair of the House Capital Budget Committee, which oversees construction funding in Washington state, and in that role he’s pushed for reforms to save energy and tax dollars over the lifecycle of buildings.
According to Olympic Medical Center’s grant application, the project is needed to replace existing 50-year-old boilers, which are poorly insulated and require frequent repairs. These problems and reliability issues interfere with the operations of the hospital, the only acute medical facility in a geographically remote area.
“During a tight budget year,” said Rep. Adam Bernbaum (D-Port Angeles), “I believe it’s wise to find innovative ideas that save money. This is one of those ideas and it will benefit the hospital, and the patients it serves, for decades.”
The $1 million grant comes from the Energy Efficiency Retrofits for Public Building Grants Program, with 40 percent of the funding set aside for public schools. The remainder goes to local governments, tribes, public colleges and universities, and other state agencies.
The state Department of Commerce oversees the program and awarded grants to 26 projects throughout the state.
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