After cold start, weatherization program heating up in California, By Peter Urban, June 22, 2010, Salinas Californian: “Although it ranks near the bottom in national completion rates, California expects to meet its September goal of weatherizing at least 12,945 homes to secure $92 million in additional federal stimulus funds. For its part, Monterey County already is within reach of its weatherization target for the same time frame. The U.S. Department of Energy slated $166 million for California to caulk windows, install weatherstripping and make other efficiencies to reduce electric bills for low-income families. A year ago, California received $74 million in stimulus funds for what the DOE then described as an ‘aggressive and innovative’ proposal to weatherize 43,400 low-income households within 33 months. The final $92 million is due this September if the state completes at least 30 percent of its overall goal…”
Tag: Weatherization
Weatherization Program
Weatherization program ramps up after slow start, By Christine Vestal, June 8, 2010, Stateline.org: “Of all the programs funded by the federal economic stimulus law, one of the most criticized has been the boost given to weatherizing homes. Taxpayer groups and critical members of Congress said the $4.7 billion set aside for installing insulation, plugging air leaks and putting in energy-efficient furnaces and air conditioning systems would result in wasteful spending. Other critics questioned whether tiny local authorities that do this sort of work could gear up to spend the avalanche of new funding in time to meet tight stimulus deadlines…”
Weatherization Program – Texas
Weatherization program finally takes off, By Tracy Idell Hamilton, May 12, 2010, San Antonio Express-News: “Patricia Teran remembers the moment she realized just how well the new insulation in her home was working. ‘I went to let my dog out in the middle of the night, and when I opened the door, I realized it was really cold out there,’ she said. ‘It was nice and warm in my house, and my heater wasn’t even on.’ Teran, 62, is one of the first local beneficiaries of the Obama administration’s $5 billion weatherization program, which aims to help low-income residents to seal up their homes, lower bills and save energy. It also is supposed to create thousands of jobs in the nascent ‘green energy’ industry. The program, a centerpiece of the administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, has faced rising criticism as more than a year of bureaucratic delays saw only a fraction of homes completed and few jobs created. But in Texas, at least, the program finally is taking off…”