Compiled by Staff

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced more than $119M in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in several states, including Wyoming.

Under DOE’s State Energy Program, states and territories have proposed statewide plans that prioritize energy savings, create or retain jobs, increase the use of renewable energy, and reduce carbon pollution.

“This funding will provide an important boost for state economies, help to put Americans back to work, and move us toward energy independence,” said Secretary Chu. “It reflects our commitment to support innovative state and local strategies to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy while insisting that taxpayer dollars be spent responsibly.”

These states and territories are receiving 40 percent of their total State Energy Program (SEP) funding authorized under the Recovery Act today. They will now have received 50 percent of their total Recovery Act SEP funding.

Activities eligible for State Energy Program funding include energy audits, building retrofits, education and training efforts, transportation programs to increase the use of alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles, and new financing mechanisms to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy investments.

The Recovery Act appropriated $3.1B to the State Energy Program (SEP) to help promote energy efficiency and clean energy deployment, as well as to support local economic recovery. States use these grants at the state and local level to create green jobs and address state energy priorities.

Wyoming will use its Recovery Act SEP funding to promote energy efficiency in buildings and homes across the state.  It will make grants to governmental and tribal entities, nonprofit organizations, and others for the purpose of retrofitting existing facilities to improve their energy efficiency by a minimum of 25 percent. The program will provide sufficient funding for nearly every community and county in Wyoming to fund an energy efficiency project.

Wyoming is also using Recovery Act funds to provide rebates to help middle-income homeowners that are not eligible for low-income weatherization assistance to increase the energy efficiency of their homes. Under the State Energy Program, the state expects to help 1,000 additional homeowners increase the energy efficiency of their homes. Homeowners will be responsible for 20% of the cost of efficiency improvements. Wyoming will also provide rebates of up to $5,000 to homeowners for installing residential renewable energy systems, including solar photovoltaic, wind and geothermal systems. The state estimates more than 500 renewable energy systems will be installed with Recovery Act funding across the state.

After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive more than $12M in additional funding, for a total of nearly $25M.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Energy