reEnergize Overview

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reEnergize Program

In November 2009, the Cities of Omaha and Lincoln joined forces to submit a grant application for the Department of Energy’s EECBG Competitive Program, first known as Retrofit Ramp-up and subsequently renamed the BetterBuildings Program.

Over 35 local and state entities pledged their resources and time toward the achievement of a single goal: building supply and demand for energy efficiency in the residential and commercial building sectors. This would require catalyzing the essential elements of a market, including:

workforce development
small business support
financial mechanisms
consumer information
neighborhood advocacy
product accessibility

In April 2010, the DOE notified Omaha/Lincoln that they were one of 25 applications selected to receive an award. The Omaha/Lincoln effort is called the reEnergize Program.

The reEnergize Program is designed to overcome three major consumer market barriers to adoption:

access to information
access to financing
access to skilled workers

As part of the overall strategy, the reEnergize Program will start by making financial incentives available to home owners, renters, landlords, and businesses in select areas, called Start Zones, in each community.

The Program staff will develop and implement a set of innovative tools that will help build market capacity. These tools, including standardized energy assessments, contractor prequalification, and synchronized data collection, will first be deployed in early 2011 and then refined through five stages for the duration of the grant. Each stage will be approximately six months in length.

For more information, please visit http://reenergizeprogram.org/.

Related links:

DOE to Fund up to $454 Million for Retrofit Ramp-Ups in Energy Efficiency, September 2009 press release (DOE site)
BetterBuildings Home Page (DOE site)
Vice President Biden Kicks Off Five Days of Earth Day Activities with Announcement of Major New Energy Efficiency Effort, April 2010 press release (DOE site)