Award to Fund Residential and Commercial Building Retrofits Throughout Greater Philadelphia
Philadelphia, April 21, 2010 – Mayor Michael A. Nutter announced today that the City of Philadelphia, along with its partners in the Metropolitan Caucus and a coalition of public, private, and non-profit partners, have received a $25 million “Recovery Through Retrofit” grant from the US Department of Energy.
The grant will be used to significantly ramp-up residential and commercial building energy efficiency retrofit activities throughout the greater Philadelphia region, creating hundreds of jobs and saving the region millions in energy costs over the next several years. It will leverage these activities to spur the creation of a true energy efficiency economy, connecting building projects to job training and technology development programs that will help make the Philadelphia region a leader in green building.
“This grant is about doing well by doing good – creating jobs and boosting the economy by helping citizens and businesses across the region build greener” said Mayor Nutter. “I’m grateful to Governor Rendell, Senators Casey and Specter, our whole Congressional delegation, and all the others who helped us bring these much needed funds to our region.”
Philadelphia’s Director of Sustainability Katherine Gajewski said “This was a very competitive process, with more than $3.5 billion in applications for $450 million in available funds. We are honored to have been chosen. The real strength of our application was the partnerships; there are many in the region who have been working toward this moment for years, and it’s terrific to see all that preparation and good work recognized.”
Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Alan Greenberger said: “We’re truly creating new economic opportunity here, by growing a new industry. We look forward to seeing the region’s builders, suppliers, and designers making energy efficiency a foundation for their growth. That means new businesses and new jobs.”
The City of Philadelphia served as the applicant for the grant in collaboration with the Metropolitan Caucus, which is composed of the Mayor of Philadelphia and County Executives of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, the Reinvestment Fund, the Energy Coordinating Agency, the AFC First Financial and the Keystone HELP Program, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania will partner to execute the program.
The key elements of the grant proposal focused on leveraging successful existing programs within the region. These included the City of Philadelphia’s Greenworks Loan Fund, a public/private partnership that was one of the first municipal energy efficiency loan funds launched under the Recovery Act, as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Keystone HELP program, which is known as a national model for financing residential energy efficiency retrofits. Funds will be available regionwide and will be distributed on a competitive basis. Projects that maximize job creation and energy savings will receive funding.
Vice President Biden noted the significance of this grant being awarded the day before Earth Day. “For forty years, Earth Day has focused on transforming the way we use energy and reducing our dependence on fossil fuel – but this year, because of the historic clean energy investments in the Recovery Act, we’re poised to make greater strides than ever in building a nationwide clean energy economy,” said Vice President Biden. “This investment in some of the most innovative energy-efficiency projects across the country will not only help homeowners and businesses make cost-cutting retrofit improvements, but also create jobs right here in America.”
Philadelphia’s Congressional delegation congratulated the region on winning the award.
“It is good to see that Philadelphia has been selected as one of the communities to receive recovery funding to ramp-up energy efficiency building retrofits; yet another example of the way the Recovery Act is positively impacting the Commonwealth,” said Senator Casey. “By accelerating the creation of a robust private retrofit market in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas, we can create an environment that would make future community-wide and even state-wide energy efficiency possible.”
“I am pleased to see stimulus funds being used to invest in much needed retrofits to buildings in Philadelphia.” Senator Arlen Specter said. “These renovations and improvements will make great strides in reducing our dependency on fossil fuels and promoting energy efficiency. This is yet another indication that the Recovery Act is making real progress.”
Representatives Allyson Schwartz and Chaka Fattah were key supporters of the Philadelphia region’s application and helped provide leadership on the issue.
Congressman Fattah , Chairman of the Congressional Urban Caucus and chief sponsor of funding for the Energy Efficiency Block Grant program nationwide, declared: “Today’s announcement is a win-win for Philadelphia and for metropolitan areas everywhere. I fought for initial Energy Efficiency Block Grant funding in Congress and now Philadelphia is receiving first fruits from this program under the Recovery Act. I congratulate the City and I welcome Energy Secretary Chu to Philadelphia Friday as we demonstrate how smart energy retrofitting technology and green-economy job development can work for everyone.”
“Philadelphia has an opportunity to launch a revolution in sustainable building practices that can serve as a model for green renovation up and down the East Coast,” Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz said. “This grant will help the city of Philadelphia shift from the old way of building to the new way of building, saving money in energy costs and creating a strong market for high efficiency building materials and the jobs that come along with that. As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day this week, it is important that we continue to build sustainable communities and these funds will help renovate thousands of commercial and residential buildings in Southeastern Pennsylvania”
The application received strong support from the region’s political and non-profit leaders.
“It’s very encouraging to see tangible results from the Metropolitan Caucus that Mayor Nutter spearheaded in creating last year,” Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman Jim Matthews said. “We look forward to working with Philadelphia and the other counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania to implement a program that will save all of our residents money through greater energy-efficiency, create jobs for them and improve our environment.”
Chester County Commissioner Chair Carol Aichele said: “This Department of Energy grant is welcome news for the greater Philadelphia region, and is a perfect example of the positive impact the Metropolitan Caucus can make in addressing issues such as transportation and sustainability. Chester County’s sustainability program is well underway, and we look forward to working with Philadelphia and the surrounding counties to create jobs, save energy and carbon emissions for the good of the environment and the economy.”
Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation President Peter Longstreth said: “These dollars will vastly expand the capital available for our Greenworks Loan Fund and will stimulate energy efficiency retrofits throughout the City and the Region.”
Energy Coordinating Agency Executive Director Liz Robson said: “This grant will begin true market transformation across the Philadelphia region. Given pending energy rate increases, this could not have come at a better time.”
President and CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania RoseAnn Rosenthal said: “We are thrilled that this regional effort was successful. This award is another important element in the region’s efforts to implement its energy efficiency and sustainability goals.”
Mayor Nutter and the other members of the grant team will hold an event to detail their plans for the grant in the coming days.
