DOE Delivers $453 Mil in ARRA Funds for Weatherization

Another nugget from ASHRAE's July 10 Government Affairs Update:

DOE delivered more than $453 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to 14 states and the District of Columbia, allowing those states to dramatically expand their weatherization assistance programs. The programs improve the energy efficiency of the homes of low-income families, helping the families to lower their energy bills. The new funds will help the states achieve their collective goal of weatherizing 165,000 homes, creating new green jobs while helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. States may spend up to 20% of the funds to hire and train new workers. In addition to the District of Columbia, DOE delivered the funds to California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia.

The new funds represent 40% of the total weatherization funds available to those states under the Recovery Act and follow the award of 10% of the funds in March to support planning and ramp-up activities. The states join Arizona, Kansas, Mississippi, and Oregon in receiving half of the funds available to them under the Recovery Act. The second half of the weatherization funds will be released when the states meet the reporting, oversight, and accountability milestones required by the Recovery Act. Details on the funds awarded to each state, as well as the weatherization goals set by each state, can be found in the DOE press release (http://www.energy.gov/news2009/7473.htm). See also the Web site for DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program (http://www.eere.energy.gov/weatherization/).