Colorado State University will continue its long-running engineering program that helps small and medium-sized businesses become energy efficient thanks to a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
CSU is one of 24 universities in the DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program, in which mechanical engineering students visit participating companies, assess their energy use and make money-saving recommendations.
The university has been involved in the program since 1985 and has saved companies in a five-state region an average of $50,000 a year through increased energy efficiency.
The grant will keep it going for another four years and allow students to help 12 to 15 companies a year. Students follow up to see what changes have been implemented after their review. About 70 percent of companies surveyed said they followed some of the recommendations, according to the university.
