Patrick/Murray Administration Announces Nearly $49 Million Available for Weatherization Programs in Massachusetts

Recovery Act funding will create green jobs, reduce energy costs, and weatherize more than 16,900 Massachusetts homes

(BOSTON) As part of Governor Patrick’s Massachusetts Recovery Plan to secure the state’s economic future, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) today announced $48.8 million in federal recovery funds to expand weatherization assistance programs throughout the Commonwealth. These funds will help the state achieve its goal of weatherizing more than 16,900 homes, lowering energy costs for low-income families, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating green job opportunities across the state.

“Today’s investment will mean lower energy costs for hard working families, and new job opportunities in the clean energy sector,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “These dollars will put people back to work, and strengthen our regional economies, while creating a cleaner future for the state.”

In total, Massachusetts will be receiving $122M in Recovery Act weatherization funding, which will be used to weatherize more than 16,900 homes over the next three years, as well as to train and support a growing energy-efficiency workforce in the state to meet the increased demand for weatherization services.

Working through the community-based organizations, DHCD will distribute these weatherization funds to communities throughout the state. Families who are eligible for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which is 60% of the statewide median income ($53,608 for a family of four), can apply to their local LIHEAP provider for assistance through this program. Agencies participating in the federal stimulus Weatherization Assistance Program are the same ones that have been working with DHCD on the regular Weatherization Assistance Program. Allocations to each agency were based upon a formula that has been used for LIHEAP for the past eight years.

"The savings in utility costs that will result from this weatherization program will mean more money in the pockets of low and moderate families throughout the state,” said Undersecretary of Housing and Community Development Tina Brooks. “It will also mean more jobs in a field that will be seeing an increased demand in coming years."

In addition to helping individual families, DHCD has set aside $25 million to weatherize an estimated 3846 units in for state-assisted public housing developments, with a priority for those in which the tenants pay their own utility bills. Another $6 million will go toward weatherizing affordable housing units that are in expiring use-restricted developments.

“The federal weatherization funds released today are good news for low-income households and for clean-energy jobs,” said Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles. “Making homes tighter and more efficient reduces energy use, saving money for years to come, while expanding the weatherization industry creates opportunities for Massachusetts citizens to join the clean energy economy.”

The final plan, as approved by the US Department of Energy, is posted on the Mass.Gov/Recovery website.

http://www.mass.gov/Ehed/docs/dhcd/cd/wap/waprecoveryplan2009.pdf

Clean energy and job creation investments are critical components of Governor Patrick’s Massachusetts Recovery Plan, which combines state, federal and, where possible, private efforts to provide immediate and long-term relief and position the Commonwealth for recovery in the following ways:

Deliver immediate relief by investing in the road, bridge and rail projects that put people to work today and providing safety net services that sustain people who are especially vulnerable during an economic crisis;
Build a better tomorrow through education and infrastructure investments that strengthen our economic competitiveness, prepare workers for the jobs of the future and support clean energy, broadband and technology projects that cut costs while growing the economy; and
Reform state government by eliminating the pension and ethics loopholes that discredit the work of government and revitalize the transportation networks that have suffered from decades of neglect and inaction.

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