WASHINGTON –
U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and
Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-MD) praised the selection of Maryland to receive $20 million in
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA) funds to help Maryland families and businesses retrofit homes and businesses with clean energy and energy-efficiency technology that will help conserve energy and reduce costs.
The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development has proposed a holistic, community-based approach to target individual home, multifamily rental properties and commercial properties for energy-efficiency retrofits.
The project includes a state-wide bulk purchasing program for supplies and equipment that will lower overall costs. Maryland will also focus on multi-family and small business retrofits that will result in significant, measurable reductions in energy consumption.
“This $20 million in Recovery Act funding is a strong commitment by our nation to ensure that we will be less dependent on foreign energy,” said
Senator Cardin.
“Thousands and thousands of Maryland families and businesses will be able to retrofit their homes and offices in order to achieve energy-efficiency, helping Marylanders reduce their energy usage and save money.”
“We need real solutions to deal with our growing energy demands,”
Senator Mikulski said. “These Recovery funds will provide a solution to Maryland families and businesses by making their homes and offices more efficient and environmentally friendly, while also giving their checkbooks a break. This is an investment in energy independence, which is crucial to our national security.”
The awards are the competitive portion of Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, which was funded for the first time under the ARRA to help state, local, and tribal communities make strategic investments in improving energy efficiency, reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions. Maryland was one of 24 other communities selected to receive a total of $452 million to “ramp-up” energy efficiency building retrofits.
