[Durham INC] FW: Information about Energy Efficiency Stimulus Funding

[Sanders, Craigie]

From: tfreid at co.durham.nc.us [mailto:tfreid at co.durham.nc.us] 
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 3:30 PM
Subject: Information about Energy Efficiency Stimulus Funding

	Please share this information with your constituencies.

	 

	The purpose of this email is to inform you of what Durham is
proposing to do with funding it will be receiving as part of the Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), funded through  the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  Durham is eligible to
receive $2,173,600 through the program.  The goals of this program are
increasing economic activity (job creation) and reducing energy
use/greenhouse gases.  More information about the program can be found
at www.eecbg.energy.gov.  The programs we are developing will likely
begin in late 2009 or early 2010, but we wanted to let you know now how
they will benefit Durham.

	 

	The City is recommending using approximately half of the funding
to pay for capital projects identified within City-owned structures.
These projects include installing LED lighting in a parking garage,
adding solar hot water heaters to some fire stations, conducting
building audits to identify energy efficiency opportunities, and
implementing energy efficiency retrofits on City-owned buildings.  The
benefits of these upgrades will be to reduce energy use in city
facilities, thus saving taxpayer dollars and helping us reach our
greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

	 

	The City is recommending using the other half of the funds for a
residential energy efficiency program. The City of Durham's
neighborhood-based residential energy efficiency retrofit program will
focus on installing a few highly effective upgrades in roughly 400
existing residences Durham along with public education and training.  We
have set a target of reducing energy use by 20% in participating homes.
Home installations will be paired with neighbor-to-neighbor training on
additional easy, no- or low-cost efficiency upgrades.   In addition,
professional training will be made available for the contractors
installing the upgrades. 

	 

	This work will focus in neighborhoods that have a core group of
interested participants and that have a sufficient number of houses that
meet the basic criteria of the program (e.g. single story, central air,
built prior to a particular year, etc.).  The target demographic is
residents that are above 200% of the poverty level.  The group below
that level is served through Operation Breakthrough's Weatherization
Assistance Program, which has more resources and can provide more
comprehensive assistance. 

	 

	The City of Durham will contract with (a) community
organization(s) to manage the program, including neighborhood outreach
and education; program material development; training volunteers and
contracted retrofitters; quality assurance monitoring; and monitoring
and evaluation of the program.

	 

	Neighborhood volunteers will go door-to-door to reach out to
residents in homes that meet basic criteria.  Participants will be asked
to contribute a low fee, which will spread the EECBG funding across more
homes.   These volunteers will also train participating residents on
energy-efficient behaviors and on how to do additional no- or low-cost
efficiency upgrades. 

	 

	The City of Durham will contract with local companies to conduct
basic energy assessments and to install targeted energy efficiency
upgrades. The upgrades will likely be limited to sealing ducts, sealing
attics, increasing attic insulation, and installing programmable
thermostats.

	 

	A contracted organization will monitor the quality of energy
efficiency upgrades made in order to assure quality. Participants will
provide access to utility bills from before and after upgrades are
complete. The program will track metrics including, but not limited to,
energy saved, number of households upgraded, professionals trained and
hired, and additional energy efficiency measures that residents take.
>From these data, the City of Durham will calculate specific outcomes of
this program, focusing on energy saved, greenhouse gas emissions
avoided, professionals trained, and jobs created.

	 

	The selection of partner contractors, overall management of the
program, and program evaluation will conform to City, State, and Federal
requirements for ARRA funds. 

	 

	For more information, please contact me at 919-560-7999 or
tfreid at durhamcountync.gov.

	 

	Tobin L. Freid

	Sustainability Manager

	Durham City-County

	(919) 560-7999

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