U.S. invests $7 million more in Navy Yard project

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu visits Philadelphia to deliver the funding for retrofitting old buildings to energy efficiency.

An infusion of $7 million more in federal funding will go toward a project at the Philadelphia Navy Yard to bring new life to old buildings.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who delivered the funds to the Navy Yard Monday, says the Philadelphia project is about practicality.

“The idea is not to make energy-efficient building that would be showcase buildings. The idea is to make buildings that could make lots of money,” says Chu. “Those investments in energy savings would result in money savings so that these things would be wildly profitable.”

The $7 million is in addition to $122 million the U.S. has already committed to the effort to figure out the best ways to retrofit older buildings for energy efficiency.

The Navy Yard has the room for development, says Chu, and it also has older buildings that need retrofitting. Penn State is running the project as part of a public-private partnership. Pennsylvania is also spending $30 million in capital investments to help make the project work.

Governor Ed Rendell calls it an investment in green jobs.

“According to the department of Labor and Industry, we have produced 350,000 green jobs. Those are jobs working in energy efficiency, pollution prevention, environmental cleanup and, of course, energy production,” says Rendell. “Pennsylvania ranks third behind California and Texas in the number of green energy jobs created.”