For anyone who hasn’t been following this act (and it ain’t easy), there is approximately $34 billion dollars moving from the Feds to the states for energy efficiency, weatherization, reduction of GHG emissions, etcIt’s moving into the economy in stages through several different programs and is being administered primarily by states and various federal agenciesSo, the question is how do we, as members of ASHRAE, participate to ensure that the funds are spent wisely - and for their intended purposes?
It breaks down as follows:
- Weatherization Assistance – for low-income family homes: $5B
- Assisted Housing – improve efficiency of low-income, public and Indian housing: $1.76B
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant – for energy audits, conservation, renewable energy and other initiatives: $3.2B
- State Energy Program – to state energy offices for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, both public and private: $3.1B
- Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds – to state and local governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: $3.2B
- Green Schools – renovation of existing schools, including improving building efficiency: $9.75B
- Federal Buildings – to a number of federal agencies, including DOD and GSA, to modernize buildings and make them more efficient: $8.5B
Note the total shown in bold - more than $27 billion dollars!
Are you positioned to take advantage of a portion of that? If so, congratulations! If not, why not?
Be aware and be prepared
A word of caution is in order here. Think about it. With this much money coming down the pike, there already are people and companies out there representing themselves as energy auditors, retro-commissioning experts, “green” equipment salespeople, etc. These are people who know little or nothing about our industry but see an opportunity to make a fast buckWith a laptop computer, a software program that spits out a fancy report, and a pickup truck (or perhaps a station wagon or a crossover vehicle – probably not even a hybrid at that), they are passing themselves off as expertsIn these areas. They will be our competitionWe’ve already seen it in the area of energy audits.
Be aware and be prepared to explain and to demonstrate your expertise.
