As seen in an Associated Press article.

New York state's schools could save money by using less energy as new state guidelines are put in place to encourage green building, officials said Thursday.

The state Education Department and the state Energy Research and Development Authority announced the new, voluntary, guidelines to encourage the use of energy-efficient design when building and renovating schools.

The state will pay out more than $1.7 billion in building aid this year. It can be used to help fund the construction and renovation of green schools.

The state can reimburse up to 98 percent of those costs, depending on the wealth of the district.

The East Hampton Union Free School District was the first to submit a project using the new guidelines, which require an outstanding learning environment and durable school facilities.

School facilities must be easy to maintain and should be designed to utilize and preserve natural resources, according to the guidelines. They can also apply to renovations.

The guidelines are known as the "Collaborative for High Performance Schools."

Additional information can be found here.