The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday announced award selections for approximately 120 organizations across the country that will receive nearly $120 million to drive innovation under the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program.
These investments will enable successful weatherization agencies to expand their programs and will support new pilot projects to demonstrate innovative weatherization delivery and financial models, and new technologies.
Nearly $90 million in Recovery Act funds will be awarded to more than 100 high-performing local weatherization providers in 27 states to complement and expand their existing weatherization programs. Each of the selected organizations has already met their milestone of weatherizing 30% of their total production goal and spending 30% of their Recovery Act funds.
These awards will allow these successful grantees for the first time to install renewable energy systems and cutting-edge energy efficiency technologies. This includes installing technologies such as solar heating systems, solar photovoltaic panels and shingles, small-scale wind turbines, new insulation technologies, cool roofs, high-efficiency appliances, tankless hot water systems, high-efficiency combination boilers for hot water and heat, in-home energy monitors, and ductless heat pump systems.
An additional $30 million from the weatherization program’s annual budget will fund 16 recipients that will demonstrate other innovative approaches to weatherizing low-income single and multifamily homes. Projects will include new types of weatherization partnerships, financial models that allow for greater private sector leveraging, workforce training and volunteer engagement, and the demonstration of new energy efficiency technologies like in-home energy monitors. Projects will also test combining weatherization services with a comprehensive ‘green and healthy homes’ approach that incorporates indoor air quality improvement and lead abatement services.
Grantees include organizations that have not historically been a part of the Department’s Weatherization Assistance Program, including private companies, non-profit organizations, universities, city governments, and national partners like Habitat for Humanity and YouthBuild USA. These projects will help build the local capacity of new weatherization providers and will allow DOE to test the cost-effectiveness of a range of new weatherization approaches that have the potential to accelerate efforts to build an efficient and sustainable weatherization and retrofit market.
After ramping up last year, DOE said the Weatherization Assistance
Program is now weatherizing homes at its optimal run rate–approximately
25,000 homes per month. And in June, states reported that more than
31,600 homes were weatherized with Recovery Act funding–the most ever
in a month. This summer alone, more than 80,000 homes will be
weatherized across the country.
According to state reports, the Recovery Act Weatherization Program supported more than 13,000 jobs in 2Q10.
See the full list of selected awardees at the link below.
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