November 4, 2009       

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Roy Kaufmann  |  503-823-4799  |  Roy.Kaufmann@ ci.portland.or.us

Julia Thompson  |  503-823-0229  |  Julia.Thompson@ci.portland.or.us

City of Portland secures $5.6M in recovery funding for energy efficiency and conservation

Portland, Ore -- The City of Portland has received approval for $5.6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for energy efficiency and conservation programs. The money is part of the City of Portland's formula grant funding, and comes from the United States Department of Energy under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program.  The City's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) will administer the EECBG funds. The award represents Portland’s allocation from the first-ever funding for the federal EECBG program, which was signed into law two years ago but funded for the first time through ARRA.

“With these federal energy block grant funds, Portland aims to balance funding between much-needed capital improvement projects and programs that encourage behavior change and transform markets for clean energy," said Portland Mayor Sam Adams. “These energy efficiency and renewable energy capital projects will create jobs today while yielding lifetime energy savings and carbon reductions.  These projects represent a major step forward in implementing Portland’s new Climate Action Plan.”

The $5.6 million grant will be allocated toward the following projects:

Clean Energy Works Portland

$1.1 million will provide the initial capital for a revolving loan fund to pay for residential energy efficiency retrofits.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects on City Facilities

$2.8 million will go towards improving the efficiency of facilities owned by the City of Portland, including efficient lighting upgrades at Hillside, Montavilla, and Fulton community centers, window replacements at Peninsula Park community center, a new micro-hydroelectric generator at the Portland Water Bureau’s Vernon Water Tower, and the city-wide replacement of standard traffic and pedestrian crosswalk signals with high efficiency LEDs.

Behavior Change Programs

$1.4 million will help fund some of the City’s most successful community-oriented sustainability programs, including Portland Bureau of Transportation’s SmartTrips and Safer Routes to Schools, and the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability’s BEST Business Center.

The remaining funds will be allocated to technical analysis of potential district energy systems. For more information, contact:  Andria Jacob, 503-823-7616 or ajacob@ci.portland.or.us.

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