The day before the 40th Earth Day, VP Joe Biden kicked off a series of White House actions and announcements with an excellent initiative:
selection of 25 communities for up to $452 million in Recovery Act funding to “ramp-up” energy efficiency building retrofits. Under the Department of Energy’s Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative, communities, governments, private sector companies and non-profit organizations will work together on pioneering and innovative programs for concentrated and broad-based retrofits of neighborhoods and towns – and eventually entire states. These partnerships will support large-scale retrofits and make energy efficiency accessible to hundreds of thousands of homeowners and businesses. The models created through this program are expected to save households and businesses about a $100 million annually in utility bills, while leveraging private sector resources, to create what funding recipients estimate at about 30,000 jobs across the country during the next three years.
This is, truly, a terrific announcement: the movement of real funding into paths for ramping up energy efficiency building retrofitting capacities and actions. For that $452 million investment, there looks to be the likelihood of over 20% annual return on investment at a borrowed money cost of roughly 5% (or less), that provides a real profit potential for the taxpayer. And, this program will create some 30,000 jobs (or 90,000 job years).
“For forty years, Earth Day has focused on transforming the way we use energy and reducing our dependence on fossil fuel – but this year, because of the historic clean energy investments in the Recovery Act, we’re poised to make greater strides than ever in building a nationwide clean energy economy,” said Vice President Biden. “This investment in some of the most innovative energy-efficiency projects across the country will not only help homeowners and businesses make cost-cutting retrofit improvements, but also create jobs right here in America.”
“This initiative will help overcome the barriers to making energy efficiency easy and accessible to all – inconvenience, lack of information, and lack of financing,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “Block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, we will make our communities more energy efficient and help families save money. At the same time, we’ll create thousands of jobs and strengthen our economy.”
Building energy efficiency is one of the greatest win-win-win options for the nation right now: job creation in some of the hardest hit industries (building trades), opportunities for every single community in the nation, very high fiscal payback opportunities, and a real bang for the buck in reducing the nation’s carbon footprint.
The biggest problem with this announcement is simple: 25 communities with, roughly, $150 million per year. As an example of the problem,
Overall, the program funding was eight times oversubscribed, with more than $3.5 billion in applications received for the just over $450 million in Recovery Act funds available, indicating significant demand for investment in energy-saving and job-creating projects like these nationwide.
This type of program shouldn’t be in 25 communities, but in 2500+. The annual investment shouldn’t be $150 million, but easily $15+ billion (actually, multiples even of that figure).
Let’s be clear, this $452 million is far from the only money that the Federal government is putting toward local community building efficiency. Even so, the total national investment falls far short of the massive opportunities for economic stimulus, strengthening of state & local financial situations, and a leap forward in reducing US GHG emissions that a serious program could foster.
It is past time for a massive Federal bond support program to help state and local governments move out aggressively with energy efficiency efforts. It is past time for a Federal program to buy down mortgage loans on the basis of energy efficiency. The $100s of billions in energy savings and 10s of millions of jobs that an aggressive embrace of such a path would foster are sitting there waiting to be harvested.
Again, cheers for the Obama Administration’s efforts and this announcement.
Let us hope that an announcement of a truly robust program will come before the 80th Earth Day … or, more importantly, before the 41st.
Full White House press release:
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
Vice President Biden Kicks Off Five Days of Earth Day Activities with Announcement of Major New Energy Efficiency Effort
25 Communities Selected for Recovery Act “Retrofit Ramp-Up” Awards
Washington, D.C. – Vice President Biden will today kick off five days of Administration events around the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with the announcement of the selection of 25 communities for up to $452 million in Recovery Act funding to “ramp-up” energy efficiency building retrofits. Under the Department of Energy’s Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative, communities, governments, private sector companies and non-profit organizations will work together on pioneering and innovative programs for concentrated and broad-based retrofits of neighborhoods and towns – and eventually entire states. These partnerships will support large-scale retrofits and make energy efficiency accessible to hundreds of thousands of homeowners and businesses. The models created through this program are expected to save households and businesses about a $100 million annually in utility bills, while leveraging private sector resources, to create what funding recipients estimate at about 30,000 jobs across the country during the next three years.
“For forty years, Earth Day has focused on transforming the way we use energy and reducing our dependence on fossil fuel – but this year, because of the historic clean energy investments in the Recovery Act, we’re poised to make greater strides than ever in building a nationwide clean energy economy,” said Vice President Biden. “This investment in some of the most innovative energy-efficiency projects across the country will not only help homeowners and businesses make cost-cutting retrofit improvements, but also create jobs right here in America.”
“This initiative will help overcome the barriers to making energy efficiency easy and accessible to all – inconvenience, lack of information, and lack of financing,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “Block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, we will make our communities more energy efficient and help families save money. At the same time, we’ll create thousands of jobs and strengthen our economy.”
In addition to the $452 million Recovery Act investment, the 25 projects announced today will leverage an estimated $2.8 billion from other sources over the next 3 years to retrofit hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the country. Overall, the program funding was eight times oversubscribed, with more than $3.5 billion in applications received for the just over $450 million in Recovery Act funds available, indicating significant demand for investment in energy-saving and job-creating projects like these nationwide.
Grantees will employ innovative financing models to make these savings accessible, for example by offering low and no-interest loans that are repaid through property tax and utility bills. In implementing these projects, grantees will deliver verified energy savings and incorporate sustainable business models, to ensure that buildings will continue to be retrofitted after Recovery Act funds are spent. The Department will use the lessons learned from these pilot programs to develop best-practice guides to comprehensive retrofit programs that can be adopted and implemented by other communities across the country.
The Retrofit Ramp-Up projects, which are part of the overall $80 billion Recovery Act investment in clean energy and energy efficiency, complement the Obama Administration’s ‘Recovery through Retrofit’ initiative, which lays the groundwork for a self-sustaining and robust home energy efficiency industry. The awards are the competitive portion of DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, which was funded for the first time under the Recovery Act to help state, local, and tribal communities make strategic investments in improving energy efficiency, reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions.
Secretary Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, joined Vice President Biden today for the announcement, which was the first of more than two dozen events and activities Administration officials will participate in around Earth Day. In addition to today’s event, the President will host an Earth Day reception with environmental leaders on Thursday, April 22nd, a video message from the President will air as part of events on the National Mall on Sunday, April 25th, and Administration officials will participate in educational programs with school children, visit wetland and coastal restoration projects and participate in community service projects as part of the President’s Earth Day call to action. The events will highlight some of the ways the Administration is working to improve the environment, transform American infrastructure for greater energy-efficiency and build a clean energy economy that supports the jobs of the future. As part of the events, Administration officials will also continue the push for Congress to act on HOME STAR legislation and comprehensive energy and climate change legislation. A full roster of Administration Earth Day activities is below and more information on the President’s Earth Day call to action is available at www.WhiteHouse.gov/EarthDay.
Retrofit Ramp-Up Awards
The following governments and non-profit organizations have been selected for Retrofit Ramp-Up awards. These projects are planned to begin in fall 2010. Final award amounts are subject to negotiation:
Austin, Texas – $10 million
Boulder County, Colorado – $25 million
Camden, New Jersey – $5 million
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning – $25 million
Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, Ohio – $17 million
Greensboro, North Carolina – $5 million
Indianapolis, Indiana – $10 million
Kansas City, Missouri – $20 million
Los Angeles County, California – $30 million
Lowell, Massachusetts – $5 million
State of Maine – $30 million
State of Maryland – $20 million
State of Michigan – $30 million
State of Missouri – $5 million
Omaha, Nebraska – $10 million
State of New Hampshire – $10 million
New York State Research and Development Authority – $40 million
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – $25 million
Phoenix, Arizona – $25 million
Portland, Oregon – $20 million
San Antonio, Texas – $10 million
Seattle, Washington – $20 million
Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance – $20 million
Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, Ohio – $15 million
Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation – $20 million
For more information on the selected projects, visit HERE. A map of the selected projects is available HERE.
Retrofit By the Numbers
• Residential and commercial buildings consume 40 percent of the energy and represent 40 percent of the carbon emissions in the United States. Building efficiency represents one of the easiest, most immediate and most cost effective ways to reduce carbon emissions and save money on energy bills while creating new jobs:
• Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting can reduce energy use by up to 40 percent per home and lower total associated greenhouse gas emissions by up to 160 million metric tons annually.
• Residential and commercial retrofits also have the potential to cut energy bills by $40 billion annually.
Administration Official Earth Day Events and Activities
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Thursday, April 22 – Washington, DC
Secretary Salazar will make remarks on the National Mall for Take a Child to Work/40th Anniversary Earth Day/Buddy the Bison Hike sponsored by the National Park Service. Five hundred local students will participate in the event.
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke
Wednesday, April 21 – Washington, DC
Secretary Locke will deliver keynote remarks at the Creating Climate Wealth Summit at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He will address how energy reform can strengthen our security and spur economic growth.
Thursday, April 22 – Jersey City, NJ
Secretary Locke will speak in Jersey City, N.J., at the Lincoln Park restoration project that is turning a landfill into a healthy wetland. NOAA funded this habitat restoration project through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis
Thursday, April 22 – Online Webchat
On Thursday, Secretary Hilda Solis will host a webchat to discuss issues and opportunities related to Earth Day. Also on Thursday, the Department of Labor will issue a report detailing green job training opportunities made available over the past year, including $490 million in Recovery Act funding for green jobs training.
Friday, April 23 – Washington, DC
On Friday, a Job Corps ceremony will honor a winning Job Corps Center for their green construction project.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
Thursday, April 22 – Chicago, IL
Secretary Sebelius will hold an Earth Day health event with Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Ron Sims at a Chicago Public Housing Authority site.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan
Thursday, April 22 – Washington, DC
Secretary Donovan will deliver remarks at the Earth Day Network’s 40th Anniversary of Earth Day rally on the National Mall, in which he will highlight the President’s Earth Day Call to Action and HUD’s efforts to develop more sustainable, inclusive neighborhoods, while increasing green job and green housing opportunities for families across the country.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
Thursday, April 22, Secretary LaHood – Chicago, IL
Secretary LaHood will attend an Earth Day event at Daley Plaza in Chicago. The event includes a school climate video competition for participating school groups and will have alternative fuel vehicles on display.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu
Thursday, April 22 – Washington, DC
Secretary Chu will speak at an Earth Day celebration for Department of Energy employees.
Friday, April 23 – Philadelphia, PA
Secretary Chu will hold a clean energy event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, focusing on the benefits of energy efficiency.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan
Thursday April 22 – Washington, DC
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will deliver remarks at a ceremony commemorating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day Thursday at the National Mall in Washington. Secretary Duncan will discuss how education can play a role in developing a green economy.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson
Wednesday, April 21 – Pittsburgh, PA
Administrator Jackson will be in Pittsburgh for an Energy Star event with children from the Sarah Heinz House Boys and Girls Club. This is a club that provides children and teenagers with strong role models and a safe, fun place to go after school, on weekends, and during the summer.
Thursday, April 22nd – New York City
The Administrator will participate in an urban-focused community service project with Green For All at the Grant Houses Community Garden in Manhattan. Administrator Jackson will take a tour of the garden, deliver remarks to press, students and volunteers and participate in a planting activity with volunteers. The Administrator will also be a guest on the David Letterman Show to talk about the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and the President’s clean energy and green jobs agenda.
Friday, April 23rd to Sunday, April 25th – Washington, DC
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the EPA will be hosting a celebration event Saturday and Sunday, April 24-25, on the National Mall. The event will feature a variety of interactive, family friendly exhibits that highlight the work of the Agency and celebrate its 40th anniversary this year. Administrator Jackson will appear on The National Mall on Friday to visit the Office of Research and Development’s P3 student participants and recognize winners. P3 is the next step beyond P2 – pollution prevention – and focuses on the three components of sustainability: people, prosperity, and the planet.
White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley
Sunday, April 25 – Washington, DC
Chair Sutley will deliver remarks at the Earth Day Network’s 40th Anniversary of Earth Day festivities on the National Mall. She will focus on the Obama Administration’s environmental agenda, and how the transition to a clean energy economy can create millions of American jobs while reducing our dependence on foreign oil.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler
Thursday, April 22 – Washington, DC
The Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler will attend the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division’s (ENRD) Earth Day 2010 event on April 22 at Marvin Gaye Park where it has held its annual Earth Day service celebration since 2004. In those five years, the Division has been able to help the park purchase over $7,500 worth of trees and landscaping materials as part of the park revitalization event. ENRD has also devoted over 2,500 hours of employee time to planting trees, removing trash, laying sod, and gardening.
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan and Agriculture Undersecretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager
Friday April 23 – Sussex County, DE
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan will travel to Delaware on Friday to participate in a groundbreaking ceremony for a project that will modernize water quality and public sanitation services in Sussex County through the upgrading of the Inland Bays Wastewater Treatment Facility.
Friday April 23 – Woodland Park, CO
Agriculture Undersecretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager will travel to Woodland Park, Colorado, where he will participate in an event marking the use of Recovery Act funds to improve drinking water quality in a subdivision.
Commerce Department Senior Officials
Earth Day Week – Huntington Beach, CA; Cape Hatteras, NC; Seattle, WA; Muskegon Lake, MI; Grande Isle, LA; Maunalua Bay, HI; Jersey City, NJ; and Florida Keys, FL
April 17 through 23, the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) leadership will hold events at American Recovery and Reinvestment Act coastal restoration projects in eight states. The events will highlight job creation in Huntington Beach, California; Cape Hatteras, North Carolina; Seattle, Washington; Muskegon Lake, Michigan; Grande Isle, Louisiana; Maunalua Bay, Hawaii; Jersey City, New Jersey; and Florida Keys, Florida.
Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren
Thursday April 22 – Berkley, California
OSTP Director John Holdren will be in Berkeley, Calif., where he will give a free, public, evening lecture on the topic of: “Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being: Priorities and Policies in the Obama Administration,” to be held in Sibley Auditorium in the Bechtel Engineering Center at the University of California, Berkeley.
Veterans Affairs Officials
Week-long
Hospital Directors and Regional Office Directors will lead Earth Day events at VA health facilities across the country including Martinsburg, WV; North Texas; Clarksburg, VA; Saginaw, MI; Battle Creek, MI; San Diego, CA; Spokane. WA; Fresno, CA Los Angeles, CA; Long Beach, CA; Reno, NV; Tucson, AZ, Boise, ID; Menlo Park, CA;, Palo Alto, CA and Ft. Harrison, MT.
Treasury Department Initiative
Earth Day Week
With Americans poised to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day this week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a broad new initiative to dramatically increase the number of electronic transactions that involve Treasury and millions of citizens and businesses, a move that is expected to save more than $400 million and 12 million pounds of paper in the first five years alone. Treasury will also make an announcement about a change in the Department’s energy consumption that, when coupled with the move from paper to electronic transactions, will greatly reduce Treasury’s environmental impact.
NASA
Earth Day Week – Washington, DC
NASA is taking part in the celebration of Earth Day’s fortieth anniversary on the National Mall in Washington beginning Saturday, April 17. The agency’s involvement includes 9 consecutive days of activities and exhibits open to the public. The ‘NASA Village,’ which contains three domed tents, will highlight the use of NASA science and technology to advance knowledge and awareness about our planet and sustain our environment.
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1 “The White House Effect”? // Apr 22, 2012 at 10:23 am
[…] Taking from someone else reacting to this Proclamation, “Philip Shabecoff was the chief environmental correspondent for The New York Times for fourteen of the thirty-two years he worked there as a reporter. Poisoned for Profit, based on more than five years of investigative research and reporting, reveals the cumulative scientific evidence connecting the massive increase in environmental poisons to the epidemic of disability, disease, and dysfunction among our nation´s children.” And how’s that Gulf Oil Spill cleanup going two years on? Oh, yeah, should we mention that The Proclamation doesn’t discuss the measures the Obama Administration has taken to spark increased oil production, the areas (onshore and offshore) opened for exploration, the assistance to increased coal exports, … Greening America’s School As my second example, consider this paragraph As we work to leave our children a safe, sustainable future, we must also equip them with the tools they need to take on tomorrow’s environmental challenges. Supporting environmental literacy and a strong foundation in science, technology, engineering, and math for every student will help ensure our youth have the skills and knowledge to advance our clean energy economy. Last year, we launched the Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools recognition award to encourage more schools to pursue sustainability, foster health and wellness, and integrate environmental literacy into the curriculum. In the days ahead, we look forward to awarding the first Green Ribbons and recognizing the accomplishments of green schools across our country. Wow! The Obama Administration set up — in its third year — a “recognition award” when it comes to “Green Ribbon Schools”. To be clear, this is not a bad thing. Green School investments are the only means that I am aware of that offer a reliable (and traceable) school-focused path toward improving education, improving economic performance, improving economic performance, improving health while reducing environmental impacts and reducing educational costs. Green Schools merit focus and investment. If the Green Ribbon recognition program helps achieve that, great … However, the “Race to the Top” has been the signature Obama Administration effort when it comes to advancing (if it does so, put that debate aside) K-12 education. Greening schools has been notable absent from that and were certainly a late comer to the Secretary of Education’s attention. AsSecretary Duncan put it in a green schools speech less than two months ago. I would be the first to admit that historically our department has paid too little attention to the green school movement and promoting environmental stewardship. Yes, late is better than never … And, a ‘recognition program’ is better than nothing. And … This is a recognition program which does provide greater visibility to green school but it is far from a major initiative driving a major, nation-wide investment in and focus on the myriad of value streams that schools, students, and society can derive from greening schools. What does dedicating more than 10 percent of a Presidential Proclamation to a “recognition program” suggest to you? That ‘oh by the way’ issue Consider, again, the shirt that I am wearing. The 2012 Presidential Proclamation for Earth Day does not have the word “climate” (and, therefore, zero mention of “climate change” or “global warming”). While there is legitimate highlighting of the improved fuel economy standards, including that they will “cut greenhouse gas emissions” (actually, more accurately, lead to reduced emissions compared to what would be the case without them), there is nothing there about why ‘cutting greenhouse gas emissions’ would be something that anyone should be concerned about on Earth (or any other or, well, more accurately, every other) Day. Yes. Okay. We all know about Global Warming. Don’t we? And, ‘if the President even mentions the word, those mean-old Anti-Science Syndrome suffering Haters Of a Livable Economic System will attack him and that won’t be good for the re-election campaign.’ Actually, the research shows that lack of significant leadership (e.g., people like the President of the United States) discussion of climate change issues undermines public understanding on the issue. And, actually tackling climate change in a serious discussion way could provide a very useful discriminator (along the lines of 1% vs 99%) between the Democratic and Republican parties in ways that could be not just truthful but also valuable in electoral concerns. Just three examples … The full Proclamation is after the fold. Judge for yourself whether the Administration is putting a smiley face on a melting glove. Note: For an interesting contrast, see what the Obama Administration was doing around Earth Day 2010. […]