Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A total of 15 State Energy Offices (SEOs) and the American Samoa Territorial Energy Office (TEO) have been selected to enter negotiations for $27.98 million from the Energy Auditor Training (EAT) grant funds. The selectees have been unveiled by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP).

The DOE said in a media release the funds will be used to increase the green building workforce across the country and support the implementation of national energy efficiency. EAT seeks to empower energy auditors to identify energy-saving opportunities in U.S. commercial and residential buildings.

“There are over two million American workers in the energy efficiency sector and the demand for their skills continues to grow thanks to the Biden-Harris Investing in America agenda”, said Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm.

“Today’s funding will expand our clean energy workforce as we move swiftly to deploy energy-saving solutions to homes and consumers across the nation.”

Energy audits help identify ways to reduce energy usage, promote energy efficiency, and offer energy savings to homes and businesses, the DOE said.

One selectee is the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority ($1,998,481), which will establish the “Southeast Commercial Energy Auditor Collaborative Partnership” to equip individuals with skills and knowledge to obtain commercial building energy auditor certifications. The initiative is a partnership between the U.S. Virgin Islands, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee, the DOE said.

The Hawai’i State Energy Office already negotiated and has been selected for $900,000 to establish the “Hawai’i Energy Auditor Training (HEAT) Program”, which will leverage ongoing workforce development partnerships and initiatives in Hawai’i.