Decorah groups might qualify for up to $1 million in energy efficiency grants

A number of Decorah groups plan to apply for federal stimulus money that is being given to groups undertaking energy efficiency projects.

Decorah City Administrator Jerry Freund says up to $1 million could be available to Decorah, with every federal dollar needing to be matched locally.

Luther College professor Jim Martin-Schramm calls the federal program "a great opportunity" for local groups. He says Luther College, First Lutheran Church, the Decorah Friends and the winneshiek Energy District are among the groups considering applying for the federal grant. Martin-Schramm says Luther College is considering applying for 50/50 funding of a $800,000 project to allow Luther to shut down its steam plant in the summertime.

However, the application needs to be submitted to the Office of Energy Independence by the end of the day Friday, March 5th, which gives the City of Decorah less than three weeks to complete the accompanying paperwork with the grant application.

The Decorah City Council Monday night gave its authorization to Mayor Don Arendt to sign the documents needed for the grant application. The City of Decorah would be the sponsor of the application, but would not need to spend any of its own funds.