August 19, 2010

Energy Assistant Secretary Cathy Zoi summed it up best: "It's a good day for announcements associated with the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP)."

Zoi, joined by Maine Governor John Baldacci, on a press conference call Thursday, announced significant production milestones for WAP and $120 million in funding for 116 agencies across the country to drive innovation in weatherization delivery and financial models and new technologies.

A record-breaking number of homes—more than 31,600—were weatherized with Recovery Act funds in June, surpassing the target rate of 25,000 a month. And in the second quarter of 2010, the Recovery Act Weatherization Program supported more than 13,000 jobs. [More]

August 12, 2010

Monroe County Opportunity Program (MCOP) has provided weatherization services to southeastern Michigan residents for over 20 years, and funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 recently allowed this private non-profit to hire more staff and increase the scope of its services.

In April 2009, MCOP received $3 million in Recovery Act funds to spend over a three year period.

"We initially used the money to hire three office staffers to process weatherization applications and a full-time inspector to conduct pre- and post-inspections on houses that are approved for weatherization," says Stephanie Kasprzak, MCOP's executive director.

MCOP also hired three full-time contractors to weatherize the homes of income-eligible residents in Monroe County. [More]

August 12, 2010

Just 100 miles from the Canadian border, Charles Miller's 90-year house in Goodland, Minn. was drafty.

"It's a two-story house, and the upstairs was always about 10 degrees cooler than downstairs. It was coldest when the wind blew. We had a lot of air infiltration from the windows," Miller says.

When he heard about Project ReEnergize—Minnesota's energy efficient renovation rebate program—he knew it was time to take action and make his home more energy efficient. [More]

July 30, 2010

In our series titled "Charlotte Green Supply Chain," Energy Empowers looks at how energy efficiency and a commitment to better buildings is creating market opportunities for the city’s businesses and delivering energy savings for residents. [More]

July 30, 2010

Rob Phocas became Charlotte, N.C.'s energy and sustainability manager in April. Now that he's had time to settle in, Energy Empowers asked him what energy plans Charlotte has lined up and how he goes about his job of overseeing 17 energy-related American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded projects, awarded under an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant in the amount of $6.78 million. [More]

July 30, 2010

Three years ago at Sacred Heart grade school in Norfolk, Neb., efforts to recycle were grim.

"When I got here, we had no paper recycling program," says Troy Berryman, who is entering his sixth year as principal at Sacred Heart. "A couple years prior, we had a guy park a semi-truck in the parking lot for people to recycle paper." [More]

July 30, 2010

Matthew Coapman sat behind a computer for six years after college, selling advertising space across the country for major brands. When his company starting shutting down, he wasn't defeated — he saw an opportunity to reinvent himself and help his community as well.

"I realized the biggest need in our community was energy conservation in the places we live and work," says Coapman, now two years into starting his business — Energy Tight. "I knew it would take getting dirty to do it, but having an experience with customers where we can give them a combination of comfort and value in their homes makes it worth it." [More]

July 30, 2010

Charlotte, N.C. resident Ron Martin heard he could save some money by having his home retrofitted, making small — but important — changes to increase energy efficiency. The ideal was intriguing.

Martin called local retrofitter Energy Tight in May to come perform an energy audit on his home. The company performed a blower door test and checked his duct work, attic and crawlspace for areas where energy might be leaking out. [More]

July 29, 2010

Virginia resident Meghan McMillen knows how frightening it is to be without a job during a recession.

As an administrative assistant at Volvo, McMillen thought her job was safe when the company began laying people off last year. But when a second round of lay-offs came in August, she found herself among those who were out of work.

"When I found out that I was suddenly out of job, I was terrified," says McMillen. "I knew a lot of former co-workers were struggling to find new employment, and I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to find anything either." [More]

July 29, 2010

"We have felt an impact because of weatherization," says Mark Barr, a third-generation owner of 70-year-old family window manufacturing business Harry G. Barr Company, located in Fort Smith, Ark.

The Arkansas weatherization assistance program received an additional $48 million to through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This has allowed local service providers to increase the number of homes serviced and tripled the number of contractors. And that has positively impacted the local economy and the Barr's window company. With the bump up in business, Barr is able to bump up employees to 40-hour workweeks, as opposed to the shorter workweeks Harry G. Barr Company had prior to the Recovery Act. [More]

July 29, 2010

"We have two schools that were built in the 1930s that have never had proper insulation," says Alex Stewart, the energy manager of Talladega County Schools. "One of our schools was built twenty years ago and never had its HVAC system replaced"

For school systems seeking to reduce costs and be more energy efficient, building age and HVAC condition matter a great deal. [More]

July 27, 2010

What do you have with seven counties, 283 municipalities and more than 8 million people? A new and potential, detailed story of energy usage and emissions in the Chicago area – told through millions and millions of data points.

In an effort to help the Chicago region manage energy consumption, the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) is providing each of the local 283 municipalities with a report of citywide energy consumption, vehicle miles traveled, and emissions data. [More]

July 27, 2010

With 900 tribal members, a small land base for development and limited access to water, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah must prioritize its finances. That means some projects, like fixing the tribal headquarters, with its deteriorating stucco exterior and temperamental HVAC system, had to wait. [More]

July 23, 2010

Kansas City's rainy summer is good news for lawns but not so good news for homes in need of weatherization, since wet conditions slow down work.

But Bob Jackson isn't worried.

"We've had a significantly wet season… but we're two and half months ahead," says the manager of the city's Property Preservation Division, which oversees weatherization efforts for Kansas City and some satellite towns. [More]

July 21, 2010

Barry Moir has seen the ebb and flow of the construction business. After working nine years in museum construction, he lost his job and started the challenging process of finding work.

With a background that also included rehabilitating homes, Moir found an opportunity as a building performance specialist with weatherization service provider ACTION, Inc., in Gloucester, Mass. [More]

July 20, 2010

Father of two, Corey Pladson is one of the newest hires at Red River Valley Community Action, a nonprofit that provides weatherization services in Grand Forks, N.D.

Pladson is one of six new weatherization technicians - three of whom were previously unemployed - hired to help RRVCA's Recovery Act production goals. [More]

July 9, 2010

When you're really committed to energy efficiency and looking at $118,000 in potential energy savings annually, you want to share it.

That's the view in McHenry County, Ill., which partnered with Siemens Building Technologies to launch http://www.mchenrycounty-eecbg.net to let residents understand the connection between recent energy efficiency projects and C02 emissions. [More]

July 1, 2010

After graduating from college in May 2008 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, David Pollack became frustrated by the scarcity of quality job opportunities. He wanted something that would challenge him professionally. He took action and launched Cornerstone Energy Solutions, a company that improves energy efficiency in residential, commercial and industrial settings.

The inspiration for the company came from his father, a retired history teacher, who often talked about the energy crisis he believed America was facing. "For a long time, I listened to my father talk about the energy crisis our country was facing," says Pollack. "It was something I was aware of, and I saw an opportunity to do something about it."

Now Pollack heads up a company doing residential and commercial building audits – and more. The company's chief revenue source is its training program, which prepares individuals to become certified energy auditors. [More]

July 1, 2010

The weatherization program of the Rural Nevada Development Corporation (RNDC) reached a recent success in its eleven counties-wide territory. [More]

June 29, 2010

Pie in the Sky, a seemingly simple store that offers customers fresh-baked desserts, is providing a second treat: weatherization.

Local resident Malea Guiriba opened the pie shop in the small town of Hastings, Fla., last summer and started using part of the store's profits to help weatherize homes of low-income residents in the area. She did all the work herself and had no salary. [More]