Stimulus Report: Energy Efficiency Funds Released
March 16th, 2009 by 
Grab some stimulus cash while it’s hot…
VP Biden and Energy Secretary Chu announced Thursday an investment of nearly $8 billion in state and local weatherization and energy efficiency efforts as part of Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funds will support programs nationwide while creating 87,000 jobs and cutting energy bills for families.
The total investment includes $5 billion through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and $3 billion for the State Energy Program (SEP). About $780 million is set to be released in the next few days. State offices are gearing up for the influx of cash and CleanTech stands to benefit in several ways.
Under the Weatherization Assistance Program (click here for an overview of the program), families making up to 200% of the federal poverty level (about $44,000 a year for a family of four) are eligible to receive an average investment of up to $6,500 in energy efficiency upgrades. The program is designed to reduce the amount families spend on energy as well as improve their health and safety.
Preference is given to “cost-effective” efficiency activities, including tuning and repairing heating and cooling systems, mitigating air infiltration, and reducing electric base load consumption among. For a complete list of program benefits, see the Weatherization Assistance Program – The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 published by the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
Under the State Energy Program (click here for an overview of the program), funding will be available for rebates to consumers for the following:
- Home energy audits or other energy saving improvements
- Development of renewable energy projects for clean electricity generation and alternative fuels
- Promotion of energy star products; efficiency upgrades for state and local government buildings
- Other innovative state efforts to help save families money on their energy bills
Click here for SEP Formula Grant funding application guidelines.
[Flickr photo by Steve Wampler]
|
|
Tags:  cleantech stimulus | [ Permalink ] |
Wow – so in the SEP grant application the requirement for any procured iron and steel to be US-manufactured was left in. Incredible. I’d like to think that we leart something from Smoot-Hawley…… but obviously not.
I thought all these articles about our current economic crisis would never stop and so I am very pleased to read the contributions about the released Energy Efficiency Funds by the US administration. It is high time that we bring our environmental issues back into peoples mind and therefore some measures on the go. I appreciate the confirmed State Energy Program also under the aspect of creating new jobs and giving normal people the possibility to reduce their costs of living while applying for the mentioned energy saving improvements. This all makes me very positive for future developments. The approved measures are not only a milestone for the United States moreover, they ought to be a solid stepping stone for further creative new ideas in Europe.