Biden, Kaptur, Port Director To Announce Landmark Energy Independence And Jobs Development

Press Release

Congresswoman Kaptur and the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Toth today joined Vice President Joe Biden in announcing a $15 million federal award to the port authority to promote innovation and job creation efforts in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

"This is a transformative event for our community," said Congresswoman Kaptur. "Our region is already recognized around the world as a leader on the solar, biofuels and alternative energy fronts. Federal assistance for the Advanced Energy Utility (AEU) District will leverage private dollars several times over and further secure our competitive advantage in this high-growth sector. This is where many of our jobs will come from as we unleash the creativity and nurture the entrepreneurial spirit of the region."

The Toledo area was one of 25 communities to receive a total of $452 million in Recovery Act funding under the Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative administered by the U. S. Department of Energy. The program will focus on partnerships between communities and non-profit organizations on innovative programs to retrofit entire neighborhoods and towns. The local AEU will identify, evaluate, install, finance and manage energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, primarily in public and commercial buildings. Energy efficiency will be made accessible to hundreds of thousands of homeowners and businesses. Because of Toledo's geographic proximity to Michigan, the local project is designed to benefit businesses and citizens from both states.

The 25 projects announced nationally today by Vice President Biden will leverage an estimated $2.8 billion dollars in private sector investment over the next three years. Grantees will employ innovative financing models to make these savings accessible-for example, by offering low and no-interest loans that are repaid through property tax and utility bills. Overall, Treasury Department officials said, the program was eight times oversubscribed, with more than $3.5 billion in applications submitted for the just over $450 million in Recovery Act funds available, indicating significant demand for investment in energy-saving and job-creation projects.

The Retrofit Ramp-Up projects, which are part of the overall $80 billion Recovery Act investment in clean energy and energy-efficiency, complement the Obama Administration's "Recovery through Retrofit' initiative, which lays the groundwork for a self-sustaining and robust home energy efficiency industry.
The awards announced today are the competitive portion of DOE's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, which was funded for the first time under the Recovery Act, which Congresswoman Kaptur supported, to help state, local, and tribal communities make strategic investments in improving energy efficiency, reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions.

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