An energy plan submitted by the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and approved by the Executive Council earned Gov. Chet Culver’s praise for its ability to save state government agencies $361,190 a year on their electricity and natural gas utility bills.

“There are many ways state government can operate more efficiently and save taxpayer money,” Culver said in a release. “Increasing the energy efficiency of state buildings is a common sense investment.”

Under the plan, DAS will install approximately $3.1 million of higher-efficiency equipment throughout the Capitol complex. The plan draws upon energy-efficiency rebates from MidAmerican Energy Co. totaling about $1.16 million.

The project is expected to save roughly $2.15 million over seven years.

Also Monday, the Iowa Office of Energy Independence (OEI) awarded an additional 20 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants to Iowa’s 13 largest cities, from funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The grants are in addition to 78 grant awards announced on March 23, and brings total grant funding to approximately $8.3 million. The awards also leveraged about $9.7 million for a total project amount of about $18.1 million.

The projects will help cities and counties across the state reduce energy use by 38.9 million kilowatt-hours, produce energy savings of about $3.7 million and enhance economic development by way of job creation.

The OEI is also accepting proposals under the State Energy Program, Building Energy Smart program and the ARRA. Interested entities can learn more about applying for approximately $4 million in available grants by clicking here.