USC Upstate and Spartanburg Community College have been awarded $323,000 in federal economic stimulus funds by the South Carolina Budget and Control Board’s State Energy Office to make energy efficiency improvements.

USC Upstate received $210,794 to replace heating and air conditioning systems in the Campus Life Center and the Hodge Center with more efficient models. Replacing this equipment will help the college save more than $49,000 annually in utility costs.

Spartanburg Community College received $112,176 to make improvements campus-wide. The college will replace 41 existing computer servers with small number of high efficiency blade type servers, reducing the amount of energy these systems use. The college will also install new efficient lighting fixtures for the Central Campus and the Tyger River Campus and install occupancy censors in the East Building and in the BMW Center.  These improvements will help the college save more than $39,000 annually in energy costs. 

“Both USC Upstate and Spartanburg Community College will see significant reductions in their energy bills as a result of these grants,” said John Clark, director of the South Carolina Energy Office. “Students, faculty, staff and taxpayers will benefit from greater energy efficiency.”

The public colleges and universities are receiving a total of $12.2 million, and state agencies are getting $7.4 million for energy efficiency improvements. The state’s 85 school districts are sharing $20.3 million in grants and loans for energy efficiency.