Weatherization Money Headed to Georgia, Illinois, and New York

From the DOE …

Money from the DOE’s stimulus allocation will help Georgia, Illinois, and New York achieve their goal of weatherizing more than 85,000 homes. The agency announced in June that the states would divvy up $304 million in Recovery Act money.

DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program will be available to families making up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level – or about $44,000 a year for a family of four. Weatherization projects allow low-income families to save money by making their homes more energy efficient, which results in average savings of 32 percent for heating bills and savings of hundreds of dollars per year on overall energy bills.  States will spend an average of $6,500 to weatherize each home.

Georgia: $49,902,524

Georgia will use its Recovery Act funds to weatherize more than 13,600 homes over the next three years.  The Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, which manages the weatherization program in the state, intends to leverage Recovery Act funds in partnership with the Georgia Power Company to weatherize 500 additional homes.  The state is giving priority to weatherizing homes occupied by elderly residents and elderly residents with disabilities, and expects at least half of all weatherized homes will go to these high-need residents.

Illinois: $97,010,647

Illinois will use its Recovery Act funding to weatherize nearly 27,000 homes over the next three years, reducing energy consumption and our dependence on fossil fuels, while creating jobs locally. The funding will help expand the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program, which is administered by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).  The state will then provide subgrants to 35 existing local agencies with demonstrated effectiveness in implementing energy audits and home weatherization programs.

New York: $157,874,605

New York will use its Recovery Act funding to weatherize more than 45,000 homes over the next three years.  The state Department of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) intends to maximize state Recovery Act funding by coordinating its weatherization program with other state agencies to improve benefits for low-income clients.  Subgrantees in the state are encouraged to access other federal and state housing funds that can be used along with weatherization funds to provide comprehensive weatherization services, as well as additional repair and rehabilitation work. 

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