Dana College agreement releaseKenewa6le Nations'Institute at Dana College
A CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE - UNIVERSITY (CGI -U) COMMITMENT TO ACTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 31, 2012 - GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY - WASHINGTON D.0
CGI -U 5TH ANNUAL MEETING
The Renewable Nations Institute, Inc. will enter into an agreement on April 2, 2012, to purchase the
former Dana College campus in Blair, Nebraska. According to the Institute's founder and president,
Allan E. Baer, the Renewable Nations Institute (a 2012 CGI -U "Commitment to Action") will leverage
America's high - performing undergraduate and graduate students to support national -scale planning for
the transition to a low- carbon economy in the Unites States and developing countries throughout the
world.
Students enrolled at the Institute will engage in paid internships to provide technical assistance and
human capacity building services to support the development of investment-quality proposals for energy
efficiency retrofits in industrial, commercial and institutional buildings.
The Institute is modeled after the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC)
program. Since 1976 the DOE program, consisting of an annual average of 24 participating university -
based IACs at qualified ABET - certified engineering schools, has generated a total of $2.2 billion in private
sector construction contracts in the U.S. and created and/or saved in excess of 1.5 million jobs. IAC
industry clients have realized over $5.6 billion in avoided energy costs.
The Institute will expand the DOE -IAC program to 90 university -based engineering schools within 5
years, resulting in over 4,300 full-time equivalent jobs per year in the green economy based upon an
estimated annual contract value of $127 million. To achieve this goal, the Institute will enroll up to 1,000
students a year at the former Dana College campus, and up to 1,800 engineering students a year across
the universe of 90 participating university -based ABET - certified engineering schools.
The City of Blair, Nebraska, has passed Resolution No. 2012 -4 granting preliminary approval for the
issuance of development tax- exempt 501(c)(3) revenue bonds not to exceed $25 million for the acquisition
and development of the Dana College campus by the Institute.
The Renewable Nations Institute, Inc., a Nebraska -based non-profit organization, is holding a Town
Meeting on the former Dana College campus from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 10, 2012, to present an
overview of the plans for the redevelopment of the Dana College campus. The public is invited.
The Town Hall meeting will be held in the Forum at the former Dana College Durham Classroom Center.
For additional information and Town Hall Meeting registration, visit the Renewable Nations Institute
web site at http:/ / www.renewablenationsinstitute.net Participants must register in advance.