FRANKFORT, KY (Sept. 3, 2014) – The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet today recognized Good Shepherd Catholic School in Frankfort for earning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR certification, a national symbol for protecting the environment through superior energy performance. A certificate signed by Gov. Steve Beshear was presented recently to the school’s principal, William O’Dea. Good Shepherd is Kentucky’s first private school to earn the ENERGY STAR. The newly constructed 27,400-square foot school opened its doors in 2013 to serve students in pre-K through eighth grade. Within the first 12 months, energy efficiency features have resulted in an annual cost savings of more than $11,000 and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 146 metric tons of carbon, which is equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from 31 passenger vehicles in a year. “I want to thank our previous principal, Ms. Sharon Bresler, and everyone in our parish who helped make Good Shepherd Catholic School such an energy efficient school,” said school Principal William O’Dea. “As stewards of the Earth, we are called to conserve energy and protect the environment, and I am thankful that our school can help contribute to both.” Energy efficiency features of the school building and gymnasium include a heating and cooling system consisting of a vertical geothermal well field with water source heat pumps in the classroom building and an energy recovery unit which captures otherwise wasted energy and reuses it in the system; lighting with automated controls; and exterior wall, roof and windows to optimize energy efficiency. With the addition of this school, Kentucky now has 479 buildings that have earned the ENERGY STAR; of these, 256 are school buildings. The Good Shepherd School earned an ENERGY STAR score of 88. ENERGY STAR facilities typically use about 35 percent less energy than average buildings. To earn the ENERGY STAR, a building must receive at least 75 out of 100 points in the EPA’s national energy-performance rating system – with higher scores being better — which places these facilities among the top 25 percent of all comparable buildings. Buildings are rated based on how they compare to similar buildings across the country. A building must operate for at least one year and submit a year’s worth of energy-use data to the US Environmental Protection Agency to be considered for the ENERGY STAR. For more information on ENERGY STAR programs, see www.energystar.gov
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