DOE Congratulates Nevada on Weatherizing More than 2,300 Homes under the Recovery Act

Washington, DC – May 28, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that Nevada has weatherized 2,318 homes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as of April 30, 2010. Nevada is one of the country’s weatherization leaders and has now weatherized more than 30% of their total targeted homes. Through the Weatherization Assistance Program, the state is making low-income homes more energy efficient, saving families an average of $437 on their energy bills the year after their homes were weatherized, according to a recent study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The Recovery Act-funded program is also creating jobs locally. According to the state, about 80 workers were employed by state and local weatherization providers during the first three months of the year. 

“What we see here today is that states like Nevada are moving forward aggressively with the weatherization program, delivering energy and cost savings for the families who need it most,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “This Recovery Act funding is helping to create jobs in local communities while putting America on the path to a clean energy future.”

“The Recovery Act is helping Nevada lead the country in energy efficiency and clean energy job creation,” U.S. Senator Harry Reid said. “Thousands of Nevada families are saving hundreds of dollars a year on their energy bills because of the weatherization program. While the results to date are impressive, the number of weatherized homes that result from this program will more than double and more jobs will be created as the rest of the funding is released to the state in the coming months.”

Under the Recovery Act, Nevada was allocated $37.3 million for the weatherization program. The state previously had access to the first 50% of the funding. By weatherizing more than 30% of their total estimated homes and meeting a series of aggressive accountability and reporting milestones, Nevada now has access to the full $37.3 million to continue weatherizing homes across the state. Nevada plans to weatherize a total of more than 5,500 homes with their Recovery Act funding. Since February 2009, the state has also weatherized 1,350 additional homes under its annual weatherization program. Together with the Recovery Act funding, the state has now weatherized more than 3,600 homes since the Recovery Act began.

Under the weatherization program, states partner with local community action agencies or non-profit organizations to provide whole-home weatherization services. This includes conducting an energy audit in the home to identify the most cost-effective improvements and implementing solutions that range from installing additional insulation and weatherstripping, sealing windows and doors, caulking cracks in the building, and replacing inefficient heating and cooling equipment.

The Nevada Housing Division forged a unique partnership with the State Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation to support weatherization worker training facilities per State Senate Bill 152.

“This partnership enabled the state to support weatherization worker training facilities that would have the capacity to quickly provide trained individuals to contractors so they could weatherize a higher number of units in a timely manner,” said Charles Horsey, Administrator of Nevada’s Housing Division, which oversees the state’s Weatherization Program.