The federal government announced Tuesday that Utah will receive $16.6 million in grants for energy conservation and research into geothermal energy and carbon capture.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants will go to Salt Lake City and Utah's State Energy Program, which will distribute its $9,593,500 to communities throughout the state that haven't yet benefited from the federal stimulus grant program.

Salt Lake City received a direct Department of Energy grant of $2,116,500. A separate grant of $4.9 million is going to Utah State University for energy research.

About 2,300 cities, counties and states were eligible nationwide for the funding. Jason Berry of the State Energy Program said his office has prepared potential applicants in Utah -- 19 counties and 235 cities -- for the coming competitive grant period whose deadline likely will be in January.

The DOE intended the block grants to help lower energy use, reduce carbon pollution, and create green jobs across the state.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants will "promote some of the cheapest, cleanest and most reliable energy technologies we have -- energy efficiency and conservation -- which can be deployed immediately," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement. "Local communities can now make strategic investments to help meet the nation's long-term clean energy and climate goals."

Berry said the "shovel-ready" projects most likely

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to receive a share of the state's grants will be upgrades and retrofits to government buildings, street lighting and traffic lights. There also could be money for roof-mounted solar panels.

Salt Lake City will use its $2.1 million to conduct a baseline study of the capital's greenhouse-gas emissions, which in turn will help create a sustainability plan. The city also will tap the money to evaluate whether revisions to zoning and subdivision regulations might encourage energy efficiency.

The city plans to establish a revolving loan fund to help for-profit businesses upgrade their buildings' energy efficiency through low-interest loans with payback terms reliant on projected savings.

On the transportation front, the city will launch a traffic-signal management project to improve the timing of 200 signals. The project's goal is to eliminate idling and delays, saving an estimated 32,000 gallons of petroleum a year. Expansion of bicycle commuting also is in the mix, including a Bicycle Transit Center at the intermodal hub to provide secure bicycle parking and washroom/changing facilities.

USU geologists will receive $4.6 million for a geothermal drilling project in Idaho that will create dozens of jobs and student research opportunities. A separate $300,000 project will advance carbon capture and storage technologies.

"The project creates extraordinary hands-on learning projects for students and paves the way for larger, continuing geothermal research projects for USU," said John Shervais, professor and head of USU's Department of Geology.