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 White Plains, NY - Westchester County this week applied to collect $4.5 million in promised funding for energy conservation projects – including $200,000 for free home energy audits – through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the federal stimulus.
The county hopes to make the $200,000 available to 1-2 and 3-family Westchester homeowners to conduct home energy audits. The audits will not only help homeowners identify ways they can save on energy, but will help create new jobs in emerging energy fields. The county is already using federal stimulus money to train those seeking “green jobs,” including those to perform home energy audits.
“These projects will not only benefit the environment, but will create jobs,’’ said County Executive Andy Spano. “At the same time, we are using other stimulus funds we received to help train people for these new “green jobs,” which we hope will be an emerging area of new job growth.’’
The funds for the home energy audits are part of an application filed by the county to collect $4.5 million in money promised for energy efficiency projects that are expected to create 200 jobs. The applications are due at the end of this week, but the county has already completed its application. “We are moving as quickly as we can to obtain these funds and get these projects underway,’’ said Spano.
Also included in the latest application is a request for $700,000 to conduct energy and greenhouse gas audits of 50 county buildings, including those at the airport and Department of Public Works facilities. The audits are expected to recommend ways to save on energy costs in those buildings as well as give the county an accounting of its greenhouse gas production.
This will help the county to meet its climate change goals to reduce its carbon foot print by 20 percent by 2015 as recommended by the Global Warming Task Force appointed by Spano. It will give the county a jump on federal regulations expected in the future to curb greenhouse gas production.
The latest application is part of the Spano administration’s attempts to obtain as much stimulus money as possible for Westchester County. The county has been working to cut the red tape involved in applying for funds. In April, Spano spoke with Vice President Joseph Biden about ways to streamline the process to get the $787 billion allocated by Congress under ARRA into the economy more quickly.
County government has applied for about $75 million in federal stimulus funds, about $8 million has already been received, another $45 million has been approved and the remainder is pending. For more about the county’s application for stimulus funding visit http://www.westchestergov.com/business_stimulusfunds.htm
Also earmarked for part of the $4.5 million in this round of funding are:
- $1 million for energy efficiency projects at the Westchester County Center. The project is expected to create 50 jobs and save $235,000 in energy costs.
- $1.5 million in energy conservation and efficiency program in all county facilities. The project is expected to create 90 jobs and save between $450,000 and $800,000.
- $65,000 for a web-based energy reporting system.
- $1 million to install solar panels on the low-rise county courthouse building in White Plains and the Department of Emergency Services in Valhalla estimated to save $15,000 in energy costs and create 30 jobs.
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