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US rolls out $450 million energy efficiency retrofit programme

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu yesterday announced a $450 million programme aimed at rolling out energy efficiency building retrofits across homes and businesses.

The ‘Retrofit Ramp-Up’ programme, funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), aims to pioneer innovative models for making energy efficiency technologies more widely available and encourage their adoption.

“Energy efficiency isn’t just low-hanging fruit, it’s fruit lying on the ground,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

“But use of these technologies has been far too limited because we lack the simple and effective ways for people to access them,” he added.

The first stage of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) programme will focus on community-scale retrofit projects.

Up to $390 million will be available for whole-neighbourhood retrofits, with up to $64 earmarked for local Indian tribe governments.

These first large-scale retrofits will serve as national role models for other energy efficiency efforts, says Chu.

“The aim of the ‘Retrofit Ramp-Up’ programme is to jump-start an industry that makes energy efficiency savings easy to access and available to everyone,” said Chu. “We hope tune-ups for buildings will become as accepted as tune-ups for cars.”

The plans are open for public comment until September 28, 2009 and will be followed by the first funding solicitation in early October.

An additional $354 million is also being awarded to the EECBG programme from ARRA to support energy efficiency and conservation activities in 22 states.

The funding covers the development of energy efficiency strategies and audits, as well as retrofit and incentive programmes, introducing new building codes and installing renewable energy technologies on municipal buildings.

For further information:
www.eecbg.energy.gov
www.recovery.gov

15 September 2009

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