Monday, September 28, 2009

Vermont Receives EECBG Funds-$9,593,500 awarded


Vermont will use its Recovery Act EECBG funding to undertake projects that enhance energy efficiency and expand the use of renewable energy at the state and local level. In addition to grants to smaller cities and counties, a portion of the subgrant funds will also be awarded to 11 regional planning commissions for county-level energy efficiency related projects, including energy audits, efficiency installations, and energy planning.

Vermont will use the remaining Recovery Act funding to establish the Clean Energy Development Fund, a financial incentive program that will allow the state to maximize the impact and sustainability of clean energy projects by leveraging Recovery Act funds. The program will provide incentives for the installation of renewable energy technologies on government buildings, energy efficiency retrofits for schools and municipal buildings, energy audits for school buildings, and the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition, which supports the reduction of petroleum use in the transportation sector. Vermont's EECBG activities will lead to substantial energy and cost savings, and create and save green jobs statewide.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Associated Industries of Vermont - Annual Meeting

89th AIV Annual Meeting
Ready or Not: Next Big Steps in Vermont's Energy Future
Tuesday, October 6  Capitol Plaza Hotel, Montpelier

AIV's 89th Annual Meeting will provide presentations from key players in these unfolding events, a panel discussion with some of Vermont's top decision makers and stakeholders, and finally a luncheon address by Governor Jim Douglas.

Both members and non-members are welcome to register by faxing or mailing a registration form by October 2. Registration is required for admission to the presentations and luncheon address. Contact Angelina Beardsley at (802) 223-3441 or email info@aivt.org for more information.

Dept. of Energy Announces New Grant Opportunities

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced a new $450 million program designed to catalyze a nationwide energy upgrade that experts estimate could save $100 million annually in utility bills for households and businesses. The Recovery Act's "Retrofit Ramp-Up" program will pioneer innovative models for rolling out energy efficiency to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in a variety of communities....

The Request for Information (RFI) being issued today is for competitively selected local energy efficiency projects. This competitive portion of theEnergy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program will target community-scale retrofit projects that make significant, long-term impacts on energy use and can serve as national role models for grassroots energy efficiency efforts. The DOE is seeking public comment on this newly funded program under the Recovery Act. Public comment ends on Sept. 28, 2009.

The DOE is accepting feedback on both the competitively-selected portion of the EECBG program for up to $390 million for neighborhood-scale building retrofits, as well as up to $64 million for local governments that were not eligible to receive the formula grants announced earlier this year....

View the Request for Information. Public comment is requested by Sept. 28, 2009. The funding opportunity announcement is expected to be released in early October, following the public comment period.