Gov. Pat Quinn came to the Illini Union Thursday to announce that the University will be the first recipient of a large Customer Energy Efficiency Grant to help lower energy costs across campus.

“As governor of Illinois, I wanted to come here to talk about this and preach the gospel, the green gospel,” Quinn said.

The University will receive more than $848,000 to fund a campus-wide energy initiative that is expected to save $1 million per year in energy costs, said Steve Sonka, interim vice chancellor for public engagement.

These savings are equivalent to the amount of electricity, coal and gas energy used by more than 1,000 homes annually, Quinn said.

Sonka said in addition to energy savings, the projects funded by the grant will help cut back on the University’s carbon emissions.

The $848,000 is a portion of the $100 million federal stimulus dollars allocated to the state of Illinois by the Department of Energy, said Tom Abram, sustainability coordinator at Facilities and Services.

Facilities and Services will be responsible for distributing the money to a number of different projects that will work toward saving energy by retaining heat inside buildings across campus.

Campus-wide projects include installing energy wheels to stop warm air from leaving many new and renovated buildings and adding insulation to steam pipes.

Specific projects include installing heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls in the Krannert Center for Performing Arts. They would also call for exhaust controls in the Levis Faculty Center, geothermal systems for buildings at Allerton Park and Retreat Center and variable air volume hoods and controls for the Chemistry Annex, Abram said.

The new federal money will create 18 construction and installation jobs that should allow for retention of 36 jobs, according to a press release from Quinn’s office.

Quinn stressed the importance of investing in the green economy to create jobs and instill skills in workers that they can implement elsewhere.

“It’s the duty of all of us to be as green as we can be,” Quinn said.

Quinn also said going green is one of the best ways to thank those who defend our democracy.

“We don’t want to help petrol dictators that help finance terrorists,” he said.

Quinn said Illinois residents should focus on keeping expenditures modest and savings growing.

“Doing simple things like energy efficiency, doing simple things like renewable energy, and also water conservation ... can really add up to a mighty river that really gets our state and country going when it comes to saving money on energy,” he added.