School Uplift: Investing in our future.
TVA EnergyRight's School Uplift supports schools in the region by offering energy efficiency training and grants that reduce energy costs and improve the quality of the learning environment. All public and private schools are encouraged to participate.
We’re open for enrollment.
It all adds up.
School Uplift is making a big impact on the region. Teachers, administrators, and students across the Valley are all working hard to save big on energy. Each year, we help approximately 100 schools lower their energy bills with no-cost energy-saving practices that reduce energy costs by 10% on average. So far, 271 grants have been awarded, and we look forward to awarding even more! TVA is investing over $2.3 million each year in School Uplift to make sure this grade-A work continues.
The heartbeat of every community is in its schools.
Take a look at how School Uplift makes schools a brighter, safer and happier place to learn and grow. Reducing energy waste means getting more of what your school needs most, like books, teaching materials and educational technologies.
Journey Coleman School
Discover how Journey Coleman School’s partnership with TVA’s School Uplift program is transforming lives and creating a brighter future. From energy-saving upgrades to improved learning environments, this Memphis school’s story showcases the power of community collaboration in driving positive change.
The ABCs of School Uplift.
Active energy management training.
Participating schools receive behavior-based strategic energy management (SEM) training. Promote engagement from faculty and students with easy, actionable energy-saving tips and energy efficiency practices.
Building stronger communities.
Together, we can do even more. School Uplift energizes students, families, teachers, business owners and state-wide leaders, uniting them with a common cause: improving local schools and the communities they serve.
Competitive and need-based grants.
Participating schools compete among their annual cohort to become eligible for grants for much-needed energy upgrades to improve the learning environment.
Turning schools into energy efficient powerhouses
What happens when a mechanical engineer turns his attention to empowering schools and communities? Our own Clay Hoover answers on the Energy Beat Podcast, hosted by AESP, an educational nonprofit advancing the energy industry through its community of clean energy professionals and utility providers. Listen in as Clay describes how School Uplift is helping over 100 schools each year lower their energy costs and improve the learning environment.
The power of saving energy.
School Uplift has already awarded dozens of grants across the region. Learn more about how a few of our participating schools put their funds to good use.
Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences
At this historic school in downtown Chattanooga, student-led innovation was the spark behind a $410,000 grant for energy upgrades. During Energy Day, students used Bubble Wrap and foil to insulate mini houses and test their energy-saving skills. Their creative teamwork paid off, earning one of the program’s top awards. Planned upgrades include window tinting and HVAC improvements to make this 1920s-era building more efficient for future generations.
Pickett County K8
Located in the Cumberland Plateau region of Tennessee, Pickett County K8 received a grant from School Uplift and used the funds to install a new dedicated outdoor air system unit with an energy recovery ventilator system for hallways and classrooms, two packaged terminal air conditioners with ventilation for classrooms, and LED lighting throughout the school.
H.W. Byers High School
North Mississippi’s Holly Springs is home to H.W. Byers High School, where a hard-working team of Energy Champions and committed students helped the school receive a much-needed grant for energy efficiency upgrades. The school chose to install LED lighting, apply window film to help prevent solar heat gain and minimize glare, and replace weatherstripping on exterior doors.
Power Center Academy Hickory Hill High School
The Power Center Academy is part of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools district and serves over 600 students in Memphis, Tennessee. The Academy put their grant to good use by installing LED lighting, skylights and daylight dimming controls. They also retrofitted their makeup air unit with a premium efficiency motor/blower and installed high-efficiency air conditioning units, vending machine controls, an energy management system and an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) unit.
What our partners, schools & students are saying.
This initiative to save energy and replace our lighting will be appreciated here and enjoyed by our young people for many years to come. We are grateful to TVA, Sequachee Valley Electric Co-op and the state of Tennessee for putting this together. [School Uplift] will save our taxpayers money for many years, so thank you very much.
Gregg Ridley
Mayor, Bledsoe County
The School Uplift program really provided us an opportunity to have some awareness on how to save energy. We saved almost $11,000. Over a 10-year span, that's going to be over $100,000 that we can turn into instructional material for our children. We are absolutely beyond blessed to know that we have something that we can take back to our children and teach them to use this opportunity.
Sheri York
Principal, Pine Haven Elementary
In addition to the coaching, we got great educational materials that we could use in the classroom to remind students to turn off computers and lights. Our teachers didn’t have to recreate the wheel. There were resources right there with TVA and MLGW, and we want to continue using those resources throughout the year
Yetta Lewis
Co-founder and CEO, Gestalt Community Schools
I’ve noticed a big difference. I’ve been able to breathe, I can focus more, I can listen to my teachers more.
Johnny Jenkins
Pickett County K8, 8th Grader
I knew we would be saving, but it really was a surprise we saved so much. Absolutely every dollar that we can save in our budget goes back to our students.
Derwin Wright
Assistant Principal, Alvin C. York Institute
This initiative to save energy and replace our lighting will be appreciated here and enjoyed by our young people for many years to come. We are grateful to TVA, Sequachee Valley Electric Co-op and the state of Tennessee for putting this together. [School Uplift] will save our taxpayers money for many years, so thank you very much.
Gregg Ridley
Mayor, Bledsoe County
The School Uplift program really provided us an opportunity to have some awareness on how to save energy. We saved almost $11,000. Over a 10-year span, that's going to be over $100,000 that we can turn into instructional material for our children. We are absolutely beyond blessed to know that we have something that we can take back to our children and teach them to use this opportunity.
Sheri York
Principal, Pine Haven Elementary
In addition to the coaching, we got great educational materials that we could use in the classroom to remind students to turn off computers and lights. Our teachers didn’t have to recreate the wheel. There were resources right there with TVA and MLGW, and we want to continue using those resources throughout the year
Yetta Lewis
Co-founder and CEO, Gestalt Community Schools
I’ve noticed a big difference. I’ve been able to breathe, I can focus more, I can listen to my teachers more.
Johnny Jenkins
Pickett County K8, 8th Grader
I knew we would be saving, but it really was a surprise we saved so much. Absolutely every dollar that we can save in our budget goes back to our students.
Derwin Wright
Assistant Principal, Alvin C. York Institute
The School Uplift energy grant is a game changer for our school. It allows us to utilize space better and effectively teach our students about energy efficiency.
Dr. Stephanie Coffman
Principal, South Haven Elementary
This grant is a big step in our commitment to energy efficiency and healthier learning spaces. Thanks to TVA’s School Uplift program, we’re improving air quality, cutting costs, and creating environments that directly impact student focus, attendance, and teacher satisfaction.
Mr. Larry Bolin
Principal, DAR High School
$13k
Average annual savings per school
$200K
Maximum grant amount
Improving focus
With LED Lighting
Breathing easier
With better ventilation
Elevating moods
With brighter classrooms
We did our homework.
Improving energy efficiency in schools results in substantial environmental, economic and education benefits.
2025 – 2026 Participating schools
Be a part of the energy-saving action.
Join us! Our local power company partners are already signing schools up for the 2026-2027 school year.
Award-winning program design.
We’re honored to make the honor roll.
2024 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award
Interested in supporting School Uplift?
Thanks to our partners at Energy Efficient Schools Initiative (EESI), School Uplift is already making an impact on generations to come by matching TVA EnergyRight’s grants to schools. If you’d like to invest in the future of our region, we’d love to hear from you.
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