MNN - Mother Nature Network

Although it has been more than a year since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed, funding from the Recovery Act is still making its way to communities across the nation. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that 20 communities have been granted funding during the latest round of awards from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program.

 

The DOE has awarded grants through the EECBG before but these 20 communities were ineligible for the initial round of funding due to population limitations. This funding will allow the communities selected to create or expand residential and commercial energy efficiency retrofit programs, improvements to transportation systems, and start renewable energy projects.

 

Grant awards range from $1 million to $5 million and will go to 20 communities in 18 states. A few examples of the communities and award amounts include:

As is the case with all projects that receive Recovery Act funding, each of these communities will be required to submit a quarterly report that details the number of jobs created or saved, how much energy the project has saved, the greenhouse gas emissions that have been reduced, and much more. These reports help keep the companies accountable but also provide important data that helps determine the success (or failure) of an individual project.