$9 Million to Help Ten Mayors
Jumpstart Energy Programs
The Natural Resources Defense
Council (NRDC) and the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) launched a new
initiative to invest $9 million in energy-efficiency programs for large buildings
in ten major U.S. cities. The effort is projected to cut a combined total of 5
to 7 million tons of carbon emissions annually and lower energy bills $1
billion per year.
The City Energy Project, which is
funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and
the Kresge Foundation, will award a $9 million grant over the next three years
to encourage energy-efficiency upgrades for existing large buildings in the
following cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los
Angeles, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Salt Lake City.
The program targets large cities
that have set ambitious efficiency goals and have the capacity to make
significant change but are currently strained for resources, according to
Laurie Kerr, director of the City Energy Project. Each city will work with NRDC
and IMT to develop and implement its own locally tailored program. While the
goals of the program include promoting more efficient operations, encouraging
private investment, modeling high performance in municipal buildings, and
promoting transparency, each city may have its own focus. In a press
conference, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti spoke strongly about directly
spurring private enterprise to finance energy retrofits, arguing,
In these ten cities, where
buildings can account for up to 75% of carbon emissions, targeting the biggest
energy hogs—large existing buildings—could go a long way toward cutting climate
pollution. The amount of energy the program is expected to save is projected to
be more than the electricity used by 700,000 American homes each year.
Read full article here!
Category: Energy Efficiency Initiatives
Source: Environmental Building News, http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2014/3/3/9-Million-to-Help-Ten-Mayors-Jumpstart-Energy-Programs/
Author: Paula Melton
Date of Publication: March 3, 2014
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