The following release is from the US Department of Energy.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $154 million in Recovery Act funding to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in California, Missouri, New Hampshire and North Carolina. Under DOE’s State Energy Program (SEP), states have proposed statewide plans that prioritize energy savings, create or retain jobs, increase the use of renewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This initiative is part of the Obama Administration’s national strategy to support job growth, while making a historic down payment on clean energy and conservation.

“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.”

The following states are receiving 40% of their total SEP funding authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act today: California, Missouri, New Hampshire and North Carolina.

With today’s announcement, these states will now have received 50% of their total Recovery Act SEP funding. The initial 10% of total funding was previously available to states to support planning activities; the remaining 50% of funds will be released once states meet reporting, oversight, and accountability milestones required by the Recovery Act.

Under the Recovery Act, DOE expanded the types of activities eligible for State Energy Program funding, which 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 $3.1 billion to the State Energy Program to help achieve national energy independence goals and promote local economic recovery. States use these grants at the state and local level to create green jobs, address state energy priorities, and adopt emerging renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

Transparency and accountability are important priorities for SEP and all Recovery Act projects. Throughout the program’s implementation, DOE will provide strong oversight at the local, state, and national level, while emphasizing with states the need to quickly award funds to help create new jobs and stimulate local economies.

MISSOURI – $22.9 million awarded today
With SEP funding, Missouri will expand its existing Energy Center program, which includes a variety of home efficiency programs, building energy codes, and education and training initiatives. The funding will go toward encouraging Missourians to reduce their energy consumption by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes, industrial facilities, agricultural operations, transportation, schools and local governments. Under the program, the state will focus on finding energy efficiency opportunities in its five most energy-intensive industrial/manufacturing categories: aluminum, chemicals, food products, metal casting, and forest products including paper. These energy-intensive industries will be examined to determine specific, targeted activities to increase energy efficiency. The state intends to increase industrial and manufacturing energy efficiency through a multi-faceted program that may include energy audits, rebates and low-interest loans, workshops and development of a web-based audit tool.

The Energy Center will also play a key role in providing training to ensure a workforce capable of assessing and deploying energy efficiency technologies.

After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive more than $28.6 million in additional funding, for a total of more than $57 million.

For the full news release- http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=191

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Tags: Department of Energy, energy efficiency, Recovery Act, State Energy Program

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