WASHINGTON, DC -- Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced today that the Department of Energy (DOE) will provide $498,994 to the state of Georgia for six energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Funding is being provided through DOE’s State Energy Program Special Projects competitive grants.
“Energy efficiency is an important part of President Bush’s National Energy Policy,” said Secretary Abraham. “These important projects will greatly help in achieving the energy efficiency goals our administration has set.”
State energy offices will use these funds to improve the energy efficiency of schools, homes and other buildings; promote energy-efficient industrial technologies; and support renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and biomass. Some projects will create opportunities for distributed energy resources. States, territories and the District of Columbia competed for these DOE awards which provide specialized funding in addition to annual formula grants given to each state energy office. While actual award dates will vary, DOE anticipates making the awards in September.
DOE is providing $16,337,695 for 162 projects in 43 states and the District of Columbia. The projects selected are:
Award Category Summaries and Funding Amounts
Clean Cities (66 projects totaling $5,425,700): Funds will support the deployment of alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) projects that: 1) promote acquisition of commercially-available AFVs that maximize alternative fuel use, especially when those vehicles support an AFV niche market activity center or niche deployment strategy; 2) promote AFV infrastructure development; 3) promote the acquisition of AFV school buses; 4) promote the reduction and/or elimination of idling by heavy-duty vehicles through the introduction of energy efficient technologies and/or energy saving approaches; and 5) support Clean Cities coalition activities and promote the use of truck idling technologies.
Industrial Technology Program (14 projects totaling $1,963,265): The funds support: 1) Outreach, Training and Assessments to engage members of energy-intensive industries in learning the benefits of increased energy efficiency and how they can be achieved; and 2) Workforce education to develop one and/or two-year diploma programs within educational institutions to educate and train students for a technical career in the manufacturing industries, with a special emphasis on industrial energy efficiency and productivity.
Building Codes and Standards (16 projects totaling $1,613,403): Funds support states’ actions to adopt, update, implement, enforce and evaluate the effectiveness of their residential and commercial building energy codes.
Rebuild America (33 projects totaling $3,959,491): Funds support specific and measurable building and related energy-saving Rebuild America State Programs project partnerships that have defined a program and process with significant opportunity to complete building projects. Rebuild America is also seeking alternative means of providing products and services, including the distribution of publications that can be used nationally; expertise and experience in a practice like performance contracting; technical expertise in building technology through participating work with a university- or state-sponsored project; and a successful model for implementing building retrofit projects within a community or sector.
Building America (six projects totaling $499,639): Projects will work to create building system performance packages that make new houses 40 percent to 70 percent more energy efficient, and existing houses 30 percent more energy efficient, than those built to local building code standards.
Federal Energy Management Program (six projects totaling $399,741): Projects will promote and facilitate sustainable design and construction, energy efficient operations and maintenance, distributed and renewable energy, renewable energy purchases, siting of renewable power on federal sites, and assess and implement load and energy reduction techniques.
Solar Technology Program (three project totaling $250,000): Funds will deploy solar energy technologies on brownfield sites in a manner consistent with local economic development activities and relevant local, state, and federal environmental regulations.
State Wind Energy Support (five projects totaling $380,651): Projects will seek information on U.S. wind resources at levels above normal measurements, often capped at 60 meters. States are requested to propose instrumentation of existing tall towers (100 meters or taller) for one year of measurements at three heights, using duplicate anemometers at each location to avoid tower shadow. Proposals are sought in areas suitable for potential wind development where wind shear is expected to be a significant factor.
Distributed Energy and Electric Reliability – Regional Combined Cooling Heating and Power Applications Centers (seven projects totaling $1,345,805): The funds support: 1) new regional application centers with targeted education and outreach programs as well as project assistance; and 2) continued regional application centers that will provide essential and appropriate applied research and development support, focused on the technology transfer and installation of advanced CHP technologies.
Biomass (seven projects totaling $500,000): Cost-shared projects will foster significant penetration of biomass-based technologies and products through: 1) outreach and information transfer to consumers, farmers, and industry; or 2) development of innovative state or local incentives to facilitate increased market penetration of bio-based products and biomass-based technologies.
For more details on these projects, please contact your state energy office. Contact information can be found at http://www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy_program/projects_all_state.cfm.
Media contact: Chris Kielich, 202/586‑5806
