$4B in Recovery Funds Spent on Green Retrofits

The U.S. General Services Administration announced that it has now invested more than $4 billion in Recovery Act funds on green retrofits for federal buildings.

GSA said it has awarded construction projects to more than 500 companies creating green building jobs in all 50 states, 2 territories, and the District of Columbia. The funding has been directed to a total of 391 projects.

GSA said lower-than-anticipated competitive bids enabled it to stretch the funds, creating an additional $173 million worth of sustainable features at no additional cost to the taxpayer.

"By delivering on-time and under-budget on these green retrofit projects, we’re not only making more cost-saving building improvements than anticipated, but creating new opportunities for more than 500 companies nationwide," said Vice President Joe Biden.

GSA anticipates that all new construction and major modernization of buildings will achieve at least a LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for the use of sustainable design and technology.

“GSA’s aggressive Recovery Act obligations put people back to work across the country and leverage our buying power to invest in green jobs, energy efficient technologies, and both traditional construction and emerging green markets,” said Martha Johnson, Administrator of General Services. “By creating a greener, higher performing federal buildings portfolio, GSA’s Recovery Act investments will save taxpayer dollars in energy efficiencies and build a more sustainable economy."

Work is ongoing at hundreds of GSA Recovery Act projects across the country, including the construction of a new energy-efficient courthouse in Austin, Texas, the installation of a solar roof on the Veterans Affairs building in downtown Philadelphia, and the conversion of a former World War II munitions plant in St. Louis into a high-performance, green building.

GSA received appropriations of more than $5.5 billion under the Recovery Act to convert federal facilities into high-performance green buildings and construct energy-efficient federal buildings, courthouses, and land ports of entry. In addition to creating green building jobs, these projects are expected to reduce the federal government’s consumption of energy and water.