Governments, schools and individuals are taking numerous energy-saving steps to save money in days of tight budgets.

Millions of dollars are at stake: A coalition of area development districts is looking for funding; both the Tennessee Valley Association and the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association are applying for up to $200 million in federal funding; and Western Kentucky University is participating in a $1.5 million energy-related project.

The state’s 15 area development districts are applying to get some of the millions in green federal stimulus money to establish regional energy committees.

“What we propose to do is oversee a program for public facilities where we could do energy audits, finding the needs and deficiencies of those buildings,” said Gene Becker, associate director of planning and development for the Barren River Area Development District. “Then we would have a pool of money to help make the corrections needed.”

The energy committee would try to help all 554 units of local government in the state and be charged with prioritizing projects for funding by making recommendations to individual development districts.

The funding, if approved by the U.S. Department of Energy, will help establish a network of professionals to assist with innovating energy planning, business skills, training and public financing.

The Barren River Area Development District also worked with the city and county to get money from the nonprofit Southeast Energy Alliance that would have brought energy companies and governments to coordinate energy efficiency programs in the county. But that grant wasn’t funded.

“Just applying for the grant was a good thing,” said Rodney Kirtley, director of the BRADD. “Some agencies learned things that others were already doing.

“A lot of entities are already doing quite a bit with energy savings,” Kirtley said. “People are really on the ball.”

The city of Bowling Green recently implemented a comprehensive energy policy after studying the energy used in city buildings and vehicles for several months.

Similar to a policy implemented by WKU, the city’s policy encourages personal responsibility in energy use by asking employees to turn off lights and equipment when not in use. Thermostats will be set higher or lower in rooms not in use, depending on the season, and small appliances, including space heaters, won’t be allowed.

Any new city buildings will be constructed with energy efficiency in mind.

WKU this week outlined how it will conduct a $1.5 million project by integrating service learning with environmental education. At Western and three other universities, students and teachers will be trained how to assess energy use in public buildings and help them train other students how to use service learning projects for environmental issues.

The initiative received $755,544 from the Learn and Serve America program. With matching funds from other partners, the total project will be about $1.5 million.

The public schools here for several years have been mindful of and looking for ways to reduce energy usage.

Richardsville Elementary School will be the only net zero school in the country by producing as much energy as it uses through such things as solar panels and geothermal heating and cooling.

“Focusing on energy savings can allow governments (and schools) to have more efficient use of their funding,” Kirtley said. “We can take the savings and use it toward something else that is going to benefit the citizens.

“We are actually doing some things here, such as putting light sensors in kitchens and bathrooms,” he said. “We haven’t done it long enough to know how much we are saving. But anytime we can save energy, it’s better for the environment and economy.”

The TVPPA is trying to develop a smart grid that would establish a communications network among electric meters and local utilities in the Tennessee Valley service area. The smart meters will display minute-by-minute electric usage, so consumers could alter their usage.

In a news release, TVA said smart meters also will allow the utility to save power by turning off water heaters and other appliances for short periods when people are away from their homes or businesses. TVA should know in October if the project is funded. If so, the program will be implemented in pilot projects across its service area.