Congressman Peter Welch Celebrates Success of Energy Efficiency Retrofits at Vermont Colleges

AVIC Energy Grant Press Conference: Association Vermont Independent College's met with US Rep. Peter Welch to thank him and Sen. Patrick Leahy for a grant to weatherize and increase energy efficiency in campus buildings. (Photos by Stephen Mease / Champlain College)

Rep. Peter Welch celebrated the success of federally funded energy efficiency projects on seven Vermont campuses at Champlain College on Dec. 19, 2013. Federal funding for these projects was secured in 2007 by Welch and Senator Patrick Leahy. Welch was joined by college presidents from the Association of Vermont Independent Colleges and representatives from Senator Leahy's office and the Preservation Trust of Vermont.

"Investments in energy efficiency are a no-brainer. They create jobs, save money and improve the environment. Efficiency retrofits made by these colleges are already yielding substantial savings on their energy bills. In an era of escalating college tuition fees, I applaud their leaders for doing all they can to reduce energy costs that ultimately must be passed on to students and their families. They have also taken advantage of the grants as an educational opportunity for students to learn about the latest techniques for responsible energy use that reduces environmental impact."

In 2007, $1.5 million in federal funds was awarded to AVIC for energy efficiency upgrades, which went towards retrofit projects at Burlington College, Champlain College, College of St. Joseph, Green Mountain College, Goddard College, Marlboro College and Sterling College. Upgrades included investments in energy efficient lighting, thermal windows and doors, additional insulation, replaced window air conditioners and updated plumbing.


Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a small, not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Canada, and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a traditional undergraduate experience from its beautiful campus overlooking Lake Champlain and over 90 residential undergraduate and online undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates. Champlain's distinctive career-driven approach to higher education embodies the notion that true learning occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain College is included in the Princeton Review's The Best 384 Colleges: 2019 Edition. For the fourth year in a row, Champlain was named a "Most Innovative School" in the North by U.S. News & World Report's 2019 "America's Best Colleges,” and a “Best Value School” and is ranked in the top 100 “Regional Universities of the North” and in the top 25 for “Best Undergraduate Teaching.” Champlain is also featured in the Fiske Guide to Colleges for 2019 as one of the "best and most interesting schools" in the United States, Canada and Great Britain and is a 2019 College of Distinction. For more information, visit champlain.edu.