GLOCESTER – The Ponaganset Alternative Energy Lab and Biomass Facilities Project will receive nearly $1 million in federal aid, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed said today.

The innovative demonstration project, a program of the Foster / Glocester Regional School District, is intended “to teach local high school students about alternative energy sources, and prepare them to advance our national renewable energy goals,” the senator’s office said in a statement.

The money will come from the U.S. Department of Energy, under a $984,000 federal appropriation that was sponsored by Reed, fellow U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Rep. James Langevin, according to data posted online by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Details are slated to be unveiled on Monday, in a news conference at Ponaganset High School.

Slated to join Reed for the announcement are Foster / Glocester Schools Supt. Michael Barnes; Regional Building Committee Chairman Greg Laramie and member Ray Fogarty; and Ponaganset High’s Principal Dennis Kafalas and science / alternative energy teacher Ross McCurdy. Local students also are expected to attend.

Additional information about the federal appropriation is available from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at omb.gov.