Capps Announces ARRA Grants of Over $6.6 Million for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects in Central and South Coast Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 30, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — Congresswoman Lois Capps today announced that several Central and South Coast communities would be receiving Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy grants totaling over $6.6 million. The funding is being provided by the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) through formula grants that are being distributed by the Department of Energy. The money goes to projects that reduce total energy use, cut fossil fuel emissions, and improve energy efficiency nationwide. Communities in the 23rd Congressional District receiving funding are listed below. Counties not receiving grants directly through the Department of Energy may be eligible for program funds through subgrants allocated by the State of California.
The city of Oxnard: $1,699,500
The city of Ventura: $1,004,500
The city of San Luis Obispo: $199,400
The city of Santa Barbara: $868,200
The city of Santa Maria: $826,000
The county of San Luis Obispo: $2,053,600
“This is further evidence that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is bringing positive change to our communities on the Central and South Coasts,” said Capps. “This funding will help our local communities make smart investments using innovative best practices to achieve greater energy efficiency and reduce energy usage, including building and home energy conservation programs, energy audits, fuel conservation programs, building retrofits, and “Smart Growth” planning and zoning. These projects will help our communities and our country reduce energy use now and in the future, and that will free up money for more productive uses and help our economy grow.”
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding will support energy audits and energy efficiency retrofits in residential and commercial buildings, the development and implementation of advanced building codes and inspections, and the creation of financial incentive programs for energy efficiency improvements. Other activities eligible for use of grant funds include transportation programs that conserve energy, projects to reduce and capture methane and other greenhouse gas emissions from landfills, renewable energy installations on government buildings, energy efficient traffic signals and street lights, deployment of Combined Heat and Power and district heating and cooling systems, and others.
To ensure accountability, the Department of Energy will provide guidance to and require grant recipients to report on the number of jobs created or retained, energy saved, renewable energy capacity installed, greenhouse gas emissions reduced, and funds leveraged. Funding is based on a formula that accounts for population and energy use.
Cities and counties across the country will receive nearly $1.9 billion under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, and states and territories will receive nearly $770 million. States will receive and administer funds for those counties and cities that are not large enough to qualify for direct DOE funding. More than $54 million will flow directly to Tribal governments.
Up to $456 million of this funding is planned to be made available under a separate competitive solicitation for local energy efficiency projects. That solicitation will be released at a later date.
Today’s announcement is in addition to Department of Energy’s recent release of nearly $8 billion to support weatherization and state energy projects.
A detailed breakdown of the funding by state, county, city and tribal government is available on Energy.gov/recovery.
For more information on the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program please click here.
