Governor Polis makes Pueblo fire stations energy efficient

PUEBLO, Colo. (KKTV) – Governor Jared Polis visited Pueblo on Friday to present the city with a $270,000 grant. The grant aims to make three Pueblo fire stations more energy efficient.

Fire Stations 6, 8 and the brand new Station 11 are all receiving grants from this project and the governor says it will save city taxpayers money.

He says the new project will save people money by helping heat and cool these stations without the city having to pay for it.

A representative of an organization that received the same grant as the fire stations, Ben Burke, CEO of Gradient Geothermal, says becoming more energy efficient will open up many opportunities throughout Colorado.

“But we see this as the very beginning of shifting focus and creating jobs and keeping people employed for decades to come.”

The project underway at Pueblo's three fire stations is similar to energy-saving projects being done across the state. Pat O'Rourke, a CU Boulder official, talks about a project the university is also working on to become more energy efficient.

“We just announced our climate action plan and it includes ambitious goals: reducing the amount of emissions on our campus by 50% by 2030 with a linear reduction in emissions until we reach carbon neutrality. »

Discussing the main benefits of doing energy efficiency projects like this in Pueblo, Andrew Hayes, Public Works Director for the City of Pueblo, says one of the biggest benefits is the benefits to the economy.

“Even for fire stations, paying energy bills costs money. Fire stations are particularly important because they operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and therefore have a high energy demand.

“It's going to offset all of those costs and ultimately you're making a small initial capital investment and you'll see benefits for decades on your energy bills.”

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