CEE June Program Meeting opened with a full morning discussion on the high priority the new Obama administration is placing on both energy efficiency and climate change through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Bryan Berringer, of U.S. DOE, along with other speakers, talked about the influx of federal stimulus funding for a wide range of energy efficiency initiatives. DOE is administering $32.7 billion of the total $787 billion Recovery Act for grants, contracts and cooperative agreements, along with energy grant programs administered by state and local governments. In addition, DOE is responsible for $12.5 billion in loan programs.
- DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability plans to distribute more than $3.3 billion in smart grid development grants and $615 million for smart grid storage, monitoring, and technology viability.
- EERE will administer $16.8 billion in Recovery Act
funds, including: RD&D ($2.5 billion), the Weatherization Assistance
Program ($5.0 billion), Energy Efficiency Community Block Grants Program
($3.2 billion), the State Energy Program ($3.1 billion), and the Energy
Efficient Appliance Rebate Program ($300 million).
- City and municipal block grants have the most opportunities for efficiency
programs to partner with and potentially leverage program resources and
stimulus funding.
DOE has not yet established timing and administrative rules for this funding, but it will be available to states and U.S. territories. The Rebates for Energy Efficient Appliances program will administer rebates for ENERGY STAR appliances. Funding will also supplement existing programs, target replacement of existing appliances, and provide for proper disposal and recycling of old units.
For further information, see the DOE contacts listed on Summary of Resources Related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Some of the concerns raised by CEE members during discussion included questions about the funding process, the split between existing and new programs, whether guidelines would be created for energy efficient appliances, and whether utilities have to rebate at the Energy Star level. In addition, there were questions about the form of incentives, whether they would be tax credits or another mechanism. A universal concern was whether there are plans to assure continued job creation and economic growth after the Recovery Act funds are all spent.
CEE member Ruth Horton, of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), made the point that the Recovery Act is primarily about job creation, therefore, priority will be placed on programs that expand employment, rather than reduce kilowatt growth. Ruth personally led the multi-agency effort within New York State government to develop New York’s request for the efficiency stimulus funding. In deciding whether Recovery Act funds should be used to expand, supplement, or complement existing programs, NYSERDA applied their own cost-effectiveness criteria, then considered the short duration of the funding and the contract and reporting requirements involved. In the NYSERDA area alone, there are 54 municipalities that could be expected to apply for block grants. To assure fairness, NYSERDA is looking at project caps and specific regional allocations, so that the dollars could be distributed equitably across their entire area. Horton also spoke of the need to coordinate with other programs and utilities, to avoid customer confusion, and the need to keep administrative costs low so that more money could flow through to the people and programs that the Recovery Act is designed to directly benefit. One outcome of this process and criteria was that no residential programs are being proposed for the state energy program funding.
Kathy Kuntz, of Focus on Energy in Wisconsin, shared the excitement of the others, but also joined in expressing some of their qualms. She said that because organizations like hers are the actual "face of energy efficiency," stakeholders expect them to understand what is going on, and to serve as an information conduit on recovery programs. In an effort to inform stakeholders and facilitate coordination, Focus on Energy has updated and distributed fact sheets on stimulus funding opportunities, established a system of e-mail alerts, and held meetings with major implementers of community block grants in the state to make sure they are aware of Focus on Energy resources. She also noted that Focus on Energy is reaching out to technical colleges to help address the growing need for workforce development and training.
In Wisconsin the governor will be the ultimate decision maker, and economic
development will be the most important consideration. Some of the issues
already being faced in that state include training for green jobs; retooling
for a green economy and industrial efficiency; competition for program
delivery resources; the challenges of Economic Efficiency and Conservation
Block Grants (EECBG); and the need for distributing money quickly, particularly
since many small providers are already on the verge of going out of business.
For more information on this story, call or email Ted Jones at CEE, 617-337-9276 or tjones at cee1.org. |
