Erie County is getting a lot of money back as part of the county's multi-year energy performance contract. The county is receiving more than $352,000 back in rebate checks this year.

In 2024, Erie County spent more than $10 million to upgrade several facilities with the goal of making its buildings more energy-efficient by installing new HVAC systems, windows and lighting. 

Erie County partnered with local company JW Danforth to complete that work. 

"An investment is not always the easiest thing to do when you're talking about capital infrastructure dollars for the county, there's so many needs," said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. "Sometimes people wonder, 'well, why would you put your money into that?' Well, the result is because it saves us a lot of money in the long run."

On top of the big rebate check, officials say the upgrades are generating an annual cost savings of nearly $250,000.