School Uplift: Investing in our future.
TVA EnergyRight’s School Uplift supports schools in the region by reducing energy costs and improving the quality of the learning environment.
Sign your school up!
The ABCs of School Uplift
Active 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 community
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
Under-resourced schools compete among their annual cohort to become eligible for grants for much-needed energy upgrades to improve the learning environment.
It all adds up.
School Uplift is making a big impact in the region – involving 90,000 students and faculty and awarding 24 energy grants to schools that have completed the program to date. We’re training 160 schools in implementing strategic energy management and TVA is investing $7.3 million in School Uplift over the next three years to help make it happen.
13.1%
$11k
$400k
Together, we can do even more.
Discover how your school can save money with energy management, apply for energy upgrade grants and boost student performance. We’re currently recruiting 100 schools for the 2023-2024 cohort. Click below to connect with us.
Bright ideas for better schools.
In keeping with TVA’s mission of service, School Uplift is our way of supporting local schools. Through strategic energy management (SEM) training and investment, we’re helping high-need schools reduce energy costs while making classrooms throughout the region brighter, safer and happier places to learn and grow.
Offering support where it’s needed most.
K-12 schools spend nearly $8 billion annually on energy costs. According to the Department of Energy, aging facilities combined with tight budgets result in deferred maintenance — with an estimated $270 billion needed for critical repairs. School Uplift offers support to help under-resourced schools save so they can invest resources where it matters most: educating children.
Award-winning program design.
School Uplift made the energy efficiency honor roll! The Association of Energy Services Professionals recognized TVA EnergyRight's innovative School Uplift program with the Groundbreaking Program Design and Implementation Award. The program has received this award as a result of hard work and innovative thinking to better the lives of the people of the Valley.
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 education technologies.
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 under-funded schools.
If you’d like to invest in the future of our region, we’d love to hear from you.
We did our homework.
Improving energy efficiency in schools results in substantial environmental, economic and education benefits.
- Through strategic energy management and efficiency upgrades, School Uplift is projected to save schools in the region $8.1 million.
- Energy efficiency upgrades and improved ventilation and filtration help keep students and teachers healthy by enhancing indoor air quality.
- LED lighting upgrades can improve focus and help kids feel happier, which can result in increased productivity and improved test scores.
What our partners are saying.
EESI’s Mission is ‘to improve the classroom learning environment through energy efficient strategies’ and the School Uplift Program aligns perfectly with our mission.
Brooxie Carlton
EESI Council President
The Tennessee Energy Efficiency School Initiative (EESI) is extremely pleased to have partnered with TVA to bring the Strategic Energy Management Program from concept to reality. EESI’s support of this program included both a matching grant of $600,000 and technical resources through the use of Regional Energy Specialists, who provided both on-site facility assessments and project implementation support.
Scott Slusher, PEM
EESI Deputy Director
Participating schools
Over 50 schools are already taking the School Uplift journey with TVA EnergyRight and our local power company partners.
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