$63M Going to Weatherization Programs in Indiana and New Mexico

From the DOE …

The Department of Energy is providing more than $63 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to expand weatherization assistance programs in Indiana and New Mexico. The funding, along with additional funds to be disbursed after the states meet certain Recovery Act milestones, will help these states achieve their goal of weatherizing more than 22,400 homes, lowering energy costs for low-income families that need it, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating green jobs across the country.

Indiana: $52,738,953

Indiana was conditionally awarded funds to weatherize more than 19,700 homes across the state over the next three years. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) will administer the program, and provide funding to local organizations to carry out home energy audits and weatherization assistance. These agencies will include community action agencies, non-profit organizations, and local government entities. The state will also use Recovery Act funds to increase its weatherization training and technical assistance capabilities by expanding its partnerships with the Indiana Vocational/Technical College, the Indiana Community Action Association, Inc., and the Environmental Management Institute. IHCDA and its partners will ensure that the state will have a sufficient and capable workforce to carry out home energy audits and weatherization procedures.

New Mexico: $10,742,242

New Mexico will use the Recovery Act funding to weatherize more than 2,700 homes over the next three years. The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) will administer the program, which will provide weatherization assistance in each of the 33 counties across the state. MFA will utilize four local organizations to conduct home energy audits and carryout weatherization procedures: three private nonprofit organizations and one regional housing authority.

MFA will also use Recovery Act funding to enhance the technical knowledge of its staff and its local contractors through training and technical assistance to achieve a level of expertise that will maximize the effectiveness and efficiencies of the weatherization program. The training plan provides for a combination of training sessions, topics and activities to provide additional knowledge and skills to MFA employees, basic training to new local agency employees, and to enhance the technical and personal skills of existing agencies employees.

After demonstrating successful implementation of their plans, the states will receive additional funding.