MARYLAND TO RECEIVE $20 MILLION AS PART OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY’S RETROFIT RAMP-UP INITIATIVE

ANNAPOLIS, MD - Governor Martin O'Malley applauded an announcement by Vice President Joe Biden that Maryland and 24 other communities around the nation will receive $452 million in Recovery Act funding to expand energy efficiency building retrofit programs. The State's award of $20 million will support the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development's (DHCD) plan, "Investment in Main Street: Energy Efficiency for Economic Growth." This strategy is a holistic, community-based approach to target individual households, multifamily rental properties, and commercial properties for energy-efficiency retrofits.

“This increased investment means the creation of up to 5,400 jobs to benefit Maryland's economy as well the significant impact of helping 4,000 families who own or rent homes,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “This initiative also assists small businesses and communities to save money and energy by improving energy efficiency in their workplaces. More importantly, this will stimulate private investment which will ensure the sustainability of these programs and help expand Maryland's burgeoning green workforce.”

In addition to the $452 million Recovery Act investment, the 25 projects announced today will leverage an estimated $2.8 billion dollars from the private sector over the next 3 years to retrofit hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the country.

The Retrofit Ramp-Up projects, which are part of the overall $80 billion Recovery Act investment in clean energy and energy-efficiency, complement the Obama Administration's 'Recovery through Retrofit' initiative, which lays the groundwork for a self-sustaining and robust home energy efficiency industry. The awards are the competitive portion of DOE's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, which was funded for the first time under the Recovery Act to help state, local, and tribal communities make strategic investments in improving energy efficiency, reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions.

In addition to the focus on homeowners and rental and commercial properties, Maryland's plan includes a state-wide bulk purchasing program for supplies and equipment that will lower overall costs. The initiative also will highlight multi-family and small business retrofits that will result in significant, measurable reductions in energy consumption.

Projected outcomes detailed in DHCD's initial proposal include:
$20 million in DOE funds to leverage more than five times that amount in other funds. Efforts will be focused in target communities where the following outcomes for homeowners, renters and small business owners are anticipated.
An estimated 2,000 homeowners will benefit from energy efficiency retrofits of their homes in first 3 years.
Twenty buildings comprising approximately 2,000 affordable rental units will benefit from energy efficiency retrofits.
A projected 900 historic commercial properties will benefit from energy audits and low-interest retrofit financing in concert with DHCD's Neighborhood BusinessWorks program.
Based on the initial application, DHCD projected the creation of 2,100 jobs in the first three years, with an increase of up to 5,400 jobs within six years.
The establishment of sustainable financing resources for homeowners, rental properties and commercial properties
The creation of a Statewide Energy Efficiency Purchasing Cooperative to maximize purchasing power for retrofits.
Providing funding for affordable housing, energy retrofit and energy efficiency. This not only supports families who are on a limited income but relieves financial burdens on property owners and developers of affordable housing.
Funding also will be used to implement targeted outreach, compliance and educational efforts for the implementation of the 2009 International Energy Conservation Codes (IECC), recently adopted in Maryland and required for local jurisdictions by July 2010.

The targeted communities were selected by weighing what would benefit the greatest number of Marylanders, taking into consideration those areas that have not yet received an allocation of EECBG funding. The selected areas are all in communities where there is significant leveraging and partnership activity. Each area is a Main Street Maryland community, has numerous multifamily developments and is a target area for other funds through DHCD.

Targeted communities include:

Berlin (Worcester County)
Cambridge (Dorchester County)
Chestertown (Kent County)
Cumberland (Allegany County)
Denton (Caroline County)
Easton (Talbot County)
Elkton (Cecil County)
Frostburg (Allegany County)
Oakland (Garret County)
Princess Anne (Somerset County)
Dundalk (Baltimore County)
Westminster (Carroll County)
Havre de Grace (Harford County)
Salisbury (Wicomico County)
Takoma Park (Montgomery County)

“DHCD remains committed to helping Maryland's communities remain viable and vibrant,” said DHCD Secretary Raymond A. Skinner. "It means giving resources to help residents improve their homes, supporting small businesses so they can thrive and providing tools to community groups to enhance their town landmarks and commercial hubs.”

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development works with partners to finance housing opportunities and revitalize great places for Maryland citizens to live, work and prosper.

To learn more about DHCD programs, log on to www.mdhousing.org and to stay connected to news updates follow DHCD on Twitter (http://twitter.com/MDHousing) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/MDHousing.)