April 22: Biden, Kaptur, Port Director to Announce Landmark Energy Independence and Jobs Development

The Toledo area was one of 25 communities toreceive a total of $452 million in Recovery Act funding under the RetrofitRamp-Up initiative administered by the U. S. Department of Energy. The program will focus on partnershipsbetween communities and non-profit organizations on innovative programs toretrofit entire neighborhoods and towns. The local AEU will identify, evaluate, install, finance and manageenergy efficiency and renewable energy projects, primarily in public andcommercial buildings. Energy efficiencywill be made accessible to hundreds of thousands of homeowners andbusinesses. Because of Toledo'sgeographic proximity to Michigan,the local project is designed tobenefit businesses and citizens from both states.

The 25 projects announced nationallytoday by Vice President Biden will leverage an estimated $2.8 billion dollarsin private sector investment over the next three years. Grantees willemploy innovative financing models to make these savings accessible-forexample, by offering low and no-interest loans that are repaid through propertytax and utility bills. Overall, Treasury Department officials said, theprogram was eight times oversubscribed, with more than $3.5 billion inapplications submitted for the just over $450 million in Recovery Act fundsavailable, indicating significant demand for investment in energy-savingandjob-creation projects.

The Retrofit Ramp-Up projects, whichare part of the overall $80 billion Recovery Act investment in clean energy andenergy-efficiency, complement the Obama Administration's ‘Recovery throughRetrofit' initiative, which lays the groundwork for a self-sustaining androbust home energy efficiency industry.