April 22: Biden, Kaptur and Toledo Port Director Announce Landmark Energy-Jobs Project

"Our region is already recognized around the world as a leader on the solar, biofuels and alternative energy fronts," said Congresswoman Kaptur. "This is a transformative event as federal assistance will leverage private dollars many times over and further secure our competitive advantage in this high-growth sector of the economy.

"This is where many of our jobs will come from as we unleash the creativity and nurture the entrepreneurial spirts of our region, creating jobs across a number of sectors through workforce energy audits, engineering and design, and worker retraining for green technology."

The Toledo area was one of 25 communities nationally (two in Ohio--Toledo and Cincinnati)--that received a total of $452 million in Recovery Act funding under the Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative administered by the U.S. Department of Energy. The program will focus creating partnerships between communities and non-profit organizations on innovative programs to retrofit entire neighborhoods and towns.

The local AEU will identify, evaluate, install, finance and manage energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, primarily in public and commercial buildings. Energy efficiency will be made accessible to hundreds of thousands of homeowners and businesses. Because of Toledo's geographic proximity to Michigan, the local project is designed to benefit businesses and citizens from both states.

The 25 projects announced nationally today by the vice president will leverage an estimated $2.8 billion in private sector investment. Grantees will employ innovative financial models to make these savings accessible--for example, by offering low- and no-interest loans that are repaid through property tax and utility bills. Overall, Treasury Department officials said, the program was eight times oversubscribed, with more than $3.5 billion in applications submitted for the just over $450 million in Recovery Act funds available, indicating significant demands for investment in energy-saving and job-creation projects.

The Retrofit Ramp-Up projects, which are part of the overall $80 billion Recovery Act investment in clean energy and energy efficiency, complement the Obama Administration's "Recovery Through Retrofit" initiative, which lays the groundwork for a self-sustaining and robust home energy efficiency industry.

The awards announced today are the competitive portion of DOE's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, which was funded for the first time under the Recovery Act, which Congresswoman Kaptur supported, to help state, local and tribal communities make strategic investments in improving energy efficiency and reducing fossil fuel emissions.