October 14, 2009 – This is great news for the state of Indiana. The Lt. Governor has released some initial information on where this money will be spent. Here is the full text of the press release:
(Indianapolis)— Lt. Governor Becky Skillman announced the availability of over $6 million dollars in competitive grants for energy efficiency upgrades in smaller Indiana cities and towns. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program will provide funding for energy efficiency upgrades in three areas: Traffic lights, Building and facility lighting, and general facility energy efficiency.
The Indiana Office of Energy Development is administering the program that is available to cities and towns under 35,000 in population, and Indiana counties under 200,000. Communities and counties above that threshold are receiving EECBG funding directly from the U.S. Department of Energy.
“Providing money specifically for Indiana’s smaller cities, towns and counties gives those Hoosier communities the same opportunities for funding important energy efficiency projects as their larger neighbors”, said Lt. Governor Skillman. “There’s more opportunity to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources and potentially create jobs in the process”.
The three Areas of Interest:
Area 1: LED Traffic Signal Retrofits
Area 2: Lighting Retrofits for Government-Owned Structures
Area 3: Structure Retrofits (excluding lighting) for Government-Owned StructuresFor the Traffic Signal Retrofits, there is a $250,000 per application limit, for Lighting Retrofits the limit is $100,000 and for Structure Retrofits the individual grants will be no larger than $250,000.
“Changing traffic signals from incandescent to LED’s is one of the fastest ways a community can increase its energy efficiency,” said Brandon Seitz, Director of the Indiana Office of Energy Development. “Because it impacts the electric bill, communities will be able to tell right away how much being more energy efficient is saving them.”
The other Areas included in the program will also have a direct impact on the cost of running government buildings.
The purpose of the Indiana EECBG Program is to assist eligible entities in creating and implementing strategies to reduce fossil fuel emissions in a manner that is environmentally sustainable, reduce the total energy use of the eligible entities, increase energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption and reduce energy costs through efficiency improvements and create new jobs and increased productivity to spur economic growth and community development.
Further information about the program, including applications and other documents are available online at www.Energy.IN.gov. Communities have until December 7, 2009 to submit their grant applications, and all of 2010 in which to complete any project given grant funding. Any community can apply for grants in any area, or all three. Only one grant application per area per applicant will be considered.
The EECBG program is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus package that came to Indiana from the U.S. Department of Energy. It is possible there will be at least one additional round of grants in Areas Two and Three.
