Department of Energy Announces $28 Million to Support State Efforts to Increase Building Energy Retrofits and Develop State Energy Savings Goals
April 21, 2010
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that up to $28 million in funding is available to help states lower the cost and increase the availability of energy efficiency retrofits. These programs will reduce energy use and save money for families and businesses across the country.
The funding opportunity, administered by DOE's State Energy Program, will also assist states in developing the necessary policy and program frameworks to stimulate investment in cost-effective, long-term energy efficiency deployments, especially in states that do not currently have aggressive energy savings goals in place.
This competitive funding opportunity is targeted to State Energy Offices (SEO). In the applications, SEOs are encouraged to partner with market participants, including other SEOs, public utility commissions, utilities, program sponsors, trade organizations, financial institutions, educational institutions, retailers, manufacturers, and/or other organizations.
The funding opportunity includes two areas of interest:
Strengthening Building Retrofit Markets: The Department plans to make up to 10 awards between $2 million to $5 million each for initiatives that significantly increase the number of commercial and residential building retrofits in a state or other defined market. States are encouraged to partner with other market participants to leverage resources and coordinate actions, with goals of enhancing the building retrofit market and developing innovative financing programs and strategies.
Applicants must demonstrate a comprehensive and sustainable approach to providing retrofits in a defined region or market. The State Energy Program is seeking projects that will overcome traditional barriers to the broader deployment of retrofits, such as consumer access to information and up-front costs of the investments. By 2013, selected projects should achieve and sustain a goal of retrofitting 2% of the buildings in the defined market every year.
The Department expects to select and award cooperative agreements by September 30, 2010.
Stimulating Energy Efficiency Action Awards: The Department plans to make up to 8 awards of between $250,000 and $700,000 each for projects that develop energy-saving policy goals in states that do not currently have strong energy efficiency programs in place. To be selected, states must demonstrate that they will undertake a viable, collaborative process to develop aggressive state-wide energy savings goals and then design and implement energy efficiency programs to achieve those goals. State Energy Offices are encouraged to partner with other SEOs and market participants in order to leverage resources and funding.
The Department expects to select and award cooperative agreements by September 30, 2010. View this Funding Opportunity Announcement (PDF 271 KB). Download Adobe Reader.
Applications are due to the Department of Energy by May 24, 2010.
