Nevada recognized as leader in energy programs funded with stimulus money
Submitted by editor on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 11:10am
Two Nevada-based programs have been recognized by the federal government for having led the nation in efficiently using at least $18 million in federal stimulus money for energy projects, the Governor's Office has reported.
The Nevada State Office of Energy and the Nevada Housing Division have received letters from the U.S. Department of Energy commending their efforts at leading the nation by quickly and efficiently infusing federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds within Nevada communities.
The Nevada energy office is on track to exceed the stimulus program's June obligation goals well in advance of the deadline. The DOE added that Nevada is in a small group of states that have 100 percent of their award through the environmental permitting process finished and 75 percent or more of those funds obligated.
“These accomplishments are a testament to your team’s strong planning and management,” DoE State Energy Program Director Mark Bailey said. “DoE applauds Nevada’s State Energy Office for your success and commends your hard work.”
The DoE also acknowledged that Nevada has weatherized 2,318 homes with stimulus funds. According to the DoE, Nevada is one of the country’s weatherization leaders and has now weatherized more than 30 percent of our targeted homes.
Jason Masters, DoE Energy Project Specialist, stated as part of his program monitoring review he “would like to commend the Nevada Housing Division for their continued exemplary work.” He further stated that he was “particularly pleased with the transparency of costs and production among the contractors, subgrantees, and your office.” Due to these accomplishments, the DoE has released the remaining 50 percent of ARRA weatherization funds to Nevada.
“I am pleased the federal government has recognized the hard work of many State of Nevada employees to get the stimulus funds into our communities and create jobs,” Gov. Jim Gibbons said, “Oversight of the stimulus funds by my office has been efficient and effective and, as evidenced by the accolades of the Department of Energy, we have been very prompt as well.”
Gov. Gibbons praised the efforts of Nevada State ARRA Director Charles Harvey and Energy Director Jim Groth, and as well as the leadership of the Nevada State Housing Division, especially Chief of Federal Programs Hilary Lopez.
The NSoE has allocated $10.5 million to 17 different school districts in Nevada and $7.9 million to 133 different state buildings for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. More than two dozen solar photovoltaic projects are in design or the project bid phase.
The NSoE also launched the Nevada Appliance Rebate Program on April 17 with 10 percent of the funding allocated in 10 minutes. The NSOE issued a total of 15,497 reservations for the program that will award participants up to $200 for replacing an old appliance with an Energy Star model.
Through the Weatherization Assistance Program, the Housing Division converts low-income homes to be more energy efficient, saving most families an average of $437 in energy costs each year. More than 107 weatherization workers were employed using stimulus funds during the first three months of 2010.
For more information about these programs, visit the following web sites:
Nevada State ARRA Office
http://nv.gov/recovery
Nevada State Office of Energy
http://energy.state.nv.us
Nevada Housing Division
http://nvhousing.state.nv.us
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