Job Creation and Energy Savings Anticipated for Communities throughout the State
U.S. Department of Energy
Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable issued a statement celebrating the launch of Oregon’s Clean Energy Works statewide program, as well as the successful completion of its pilot project in the city of Portland. The pilot project reached its goal of 500 energy efficiency home upgrades and supported over 350 jobs. Due to the enthusiastic response to the pilot program, Clean Energy Works Oregon is expanding the program to 17 communities throughout the state. In the next three years, Clean Energy Works Oregon anticipates enrolling 6,000 Oregon homes in the program, significantly increasing energy savings and spurring the support of 1,300 new quality jobs through 2013.
“Through the statewide launch of the Clean Energy Works program, the Recovery Act is helping thousands of families in Oregon save money by saving energy. The Portland pilot program has been successful in supporting new jobs in the community, expanding the market for energy efficiency products and services, and is serving as a model for other communities looking to adopt home energy efficiency programs.”
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON TODAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT
Clean Environment ergy Works Oregon (CEWO) is a new non-profit organization established to finance and deliver an energy efficiency building retrofit program that will support jobs while increasing energy savings. CEWO offers loans that customers can repay through utility bills and streamlined installations of energy efficiency upgrades. The non-profit will leverage a $20 million grant provided by the Recovery Act, also known as the Stimulus Plan, into $120 million of economic activity, helping to transform the energy efficiency finance sector and create a self-sustaining industry that will consistently supports high-quality jobs.
CEWO brings together a statewide coalition of public and private partners including the City of Portland, Energy Trust of Oregon, Enterprise Cascadia, utilities, home performance contractors and many others. The program builds on the successful Clean Energy Works Portland pilot program, funded with an initial investment of $1.1 million of Recovery Act funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program. The pilot has upgraded more than 500 homes in Portland, supporting quality construction jobs today and ensuring both energy financial savings for homeowners for decades to come.
BetterBuildings is a U.S. Department of Energy initiative with a mission of creating a self-sustaining building retrofit market. With over $500 million in federal funding, 41 state and local governments and partnering organizations are providing high quality, accessible and affordable energy improvements to homes and businesses across the nation. The program will leverage an estimated $3 billion in additional resources over the next three years. BetterBuildings aims to provide energy upgrades to 170,000 residential and commercial buildings, saving consumers about $50 million annually on energy bills.
BetterBuildings partnerships support growth in the new energy efficiency retrofit market by implementing innovative approaches, bringing real solutions to market, and creating sustainable business models. The lessons learned from BetterBuildings programs will be developed and shared as best practices for creating comprehensive energy efficiency upgrade programs that can be adopted and implemented by communities and administrators across the nation.
To learn more about how The U.S. Department of Energy’s BetterBuilding program is changing lives by changing buildings.
