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Obama Administration Announces $3.2 Billion in Funding for Local Energy Efficiency Improvements
Block Grants to Support Jobs, Cut Energy Bills, and Increase Energy Independence
WASHINGTON – Vice President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Steven Chu today
announced plans to invest $3.2 billion in energy efficiency and conservation
projects in U.S. cities, counties, states, territories, and Native American
tribes. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program, funded by
President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will provide formula
grants for projects that reduce total energy use and fossil fuel emissions, and
improve energy efficiency nationwide.
“These investments will save taxpayer dollars and create jobs in communities
around the country,” said Vice President Biden. “Local leaders will have the
flexibility in how they put these resources to work – but we will hold them
accountable for making the investments quickly and wisely to spur the local
economy and cut energy use.”
The funding will support energy audits and energy efficiency retrofits in
residential and commercial buildings, the development and implementation of
advanced building codes and inspections, and the creation of financial incentive
programs for energy efficiency improvements. Other activities eligible for use
of grant funds include transportation programs that conserve energy, projects to
reduce and capture methane and other greenhouse gas emissions from landfills,
renewable energy installations on government buildings, energy efficient traffic
signals and street lights, deployment of Combined Heat and Power and district
heating and cooling systems, and others.
To ensure accountability, the Department of Energy will provide guidance to
and require grant recipients to report on the number of jobs created or
retained, energy saved, renewable energy capacity installed, greenhouse gas
emissions reduced, and funds leveraged. Funding is based on a formula that
accounts for population and energy use.
“The Block Grants are a major investment in energy solutions that will
strengthen America’s economy and create jobs at the local level,” said Secretary
Chu. “The funding will be used for the cheapest, cleanest and most reliable
energy technologies we have – energy efficiency and conservation – which can be
deployed immediately. The grants also empower local communities to make
strategic investments to meet the nation’s long term clean energy and climate
goals.”
Cities and counties will receive nearly $1.9 billion under the Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, and states and territories will
receive nearly $770 million. States will receive and administer funds for those
counties and cities that are not large enough to qualify for direct DOE funding.
More than $54 million will flow directly to Tribal governments.
Up to $456 million of this funding is planned to be made available under a
separate competitive solicitation for local energy efficiency projects. That
solicitation will be released at a later date.
Today’s announcement is in addition to DOE’s recent release of nearly $8
billion to support weatherization and state energy projects.
A detailed breakdown of the funding by state, county, city and tribal
government is available on http://Energy.gov/recovery.
Following today’s announcement at the White House, Secretary Chu and Labor
Secretary Hilda Solis are visiting the Community College of Allegheny County in
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Workers at the facility are being trained for the kinds
of “green jobs” that the city and county are investing in – ranging from
construction and facility upgrades of green buildings to installation of energy
efficient street lights to building energy audits. Secretaries Chu and Solis
will highlight the city and county efforts as a model for other communities and
an example of how this funding can create local jobs and save energy.
More information on the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant
Program is available on
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/wip/block_grants.cfm.
Editorial Date March 26, 2009
By Brad Bugger
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