More than $60 Million in Recovery Act Funding to Expand Local Energy Efficiency Efforts in 20 Communities

From EERE News – June 11, 2010

The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that 20 communities have been selected for more than $60 million in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to implement local energy efficiency and renewable energy programs that will reduce energy use by American homes, vehicles, and businesses. Local governments, nonprofit organizations, and quasi-governmental organizations are among the recipients for the competitive grants, administered under the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program.

“These projects will stimulate the economy and create jobs on the main streets of local communities across the nation through innovative investments in energy conservation, efficiency, and renewable power generation,” said Under Secretary of Energy Kristina Johnson. “We already have proven technologies to reduce energy use at home and at work. These projects will provide access to those tools for more Americans, saving money for thousands of families and businesses.”

These awards were open to local communities that were not eligible to receive the initial, population-based formula grants under the EECBG program. The projects announced today will continue to build on the Recovery Act’s historic down-payment for a clean energy future, empowering local communities to address their clean energy priorities through projects such as residential, commercial, and municipal energy efficiency retrofits, efficiency improvements to transportation systems, and installations of renewable energy systems to reduce fossil fuel consumption.

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=352