(WHNT) — The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced Monday they’ll be awarding grants to 64 schools across seven states for HVAC upgrades and energy efficiency training, including seven schools in North Alabama.

TVA will be awarding $2.6 million in total to schools in Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi as a part of their School Uplift program, which will reportedly save the schools 10% on their energy bills.

Of that total, $85,000 will be given to seven schools in Arab and the Shoals.

Arab Elementary, Arab Primary, Arab Junior High, and Arab High, Cherokee High and Colbert County High School will all receive $10,000 in grant money, while Colbert Heights High School will receive $25,000.

The grants ranged from $10,000 to $410,000, and TVA said the amount each school received was based on “the score each school achieved by cutting their energy waste.” The grant scoring also included a “needs-based assessment” of each school’s facilities in order to determine which buildings could achieve the greatest energy savings.

TVA said they launched the ‘School Uplift’ program in 2021 to offer energy efficiency training and grants in an effort to reduce energy costs and improving the quality of their learning environments.

According to the company, they have invested $7.28 million and helped  118 schools save on energy bills. The estimated energy savings resulting from the program’s upgrades and behavior changes is “equal to the carbon dioxide equivalent of 26,300 metric tonnes, or more than 29.5 million pounds of coal.”

You can find more information about the School Uplift program here.