Dominion has awarded more than $300,000 in educational grants to 50 schools and institutions in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia.

"Energy conservation - combined with new and emerging technologies - will play a leading role in meeting the future demand for electricity in the United States," said William C. Hall Jr., a vice president of Dominion and president of the Dominion Foundation. "It is important to support the fresh ideas and intellectual potential of tomorrow's workers and leaders of this industry."

The Dominion Educational Grants Partnership Program helps schools strengthen the mathematics and science skills of students in grades K-12. The grants are made through the Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources.

The Foundation awards individual grants of up to $10,000. The company has awarded more than $2.6 million in such grants since the program began in 1996.

Grant recipients include: 

• Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center in Providence, R.I.,  received $10,000 to research alternative fuel sources for vehicles.  The project includes purchasing a used bus and converting it to  operate on both diesel fuel and used vegetable oil. 
• Windsor Middle School in Isle of Wight, Va., was awarded $2,900 for a  project that will allow students to construct simple wind generators  capable of lighting light emitting diodes (LEDs). Students will  construct and use anemometers and wind generators to learn how to  measure wind velocity and voltage.  
• Greater Latrobe School District in Westmoreland County, Pa., was  awarded $7,000 to help construct a conservation project on a local  stream. With help from community partners, students will restore 500  feet of an eroding stream bank. Students will gain knowledge in  species interactions, biodiversity, cycles in nature and forest  ecology. 
• Marion Local High School in Mercer County, Ohio, received $10,000 to  help students study water quality and understand their role in  maintaining it. Students will take trips to local watersheds, where  they will use tools to test for pollutants, temperature, nitrates and  phosphates.