The U.S. Department of Energy has given Maui County $50,000 to conduct energy audits on 12 county facilities, the Maui News reported.

The first of a dozen buildings to undergo the audit by Energy Industries LLC of Honolulu will be the Kahului Fire Station, county officials said in a statement. The money to pay for the 90-day contract comes from the federal stimulus package, or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The other facilities that will be audited for energy efficiency are the fire stations in Wailuku, Paia, Lahaina, Makawao, Kihei, Napili, Kula and Wailea. The Kaunoa and West Maui senior centers and the Mitchell Pauole Community Center on Moloka'i also will undergo studies meant to find ways to save the county energy costs and potentially outfit the facilities with renewable energy systems in the future, such as wind turbines and photovoltaic panels.

County Council Chairman Danny Mateo and others have criticized the mayor's office for not acting sooner to acquire some of the millions of federal dollars and low-interest loans available from the Obama administration to purchase green-energy systems for government buildings.