Phillips joins local leaders nationwide urging President Obama and Congress to continue investment in local job creation, energy efficiency

July 29, 2010

Summary

King County’s initiatives demonstrate nation’s best opportunity for local jobs, energy independence and cost savings through energy efficiency grants

Story

Washington, D.C. – Councilmember Larry Phillips joined local elected officials from across the country on Capitol Hill today to launch Energy Block Grants Work!, a Climate Communities’ campaign to maintain federal investment in local energy efficiency initiatives that are critical to building a clean energy economy.

“King County and thousands of local governments nationwide are effectively leveraging federal energy efficiency block grants with other public and private resources to implement projects that save energy, save money, put people back to work and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels that pollute the environment and contribute to climate change,” said Councilmember Phillips.

Local government actions have the potential to dramatically reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Energy Information Administration, more than 40 percent of energy consumption and carbon emissions come from residential and commercial buildings and one-third is generated by the transportation sector. Local governments set and enforce building codes, determine transportation and land use policies and provide critical education and incentives to businesses and homeowners to implement energy-saving measures.

Despite the vital role local governments play in solving America’s energy and climate crisis, the most effective federal program that supports their efforts may end after just two years. The Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program was funded in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. EECBG grants totaling $3.2 billion are empowering local governments to create new clean energy jobs through investments in building efficiency, community scale renewable and other projects that save energy. The grant program will end in 2011 without action by the Obama Administration and Congress.

King County is leveraging $6.14 million in federal energy efficiency grant money to secure more than $25 million of public and private funds for 23 projects including energy efficiency retrofits for low-income housing and electrification of the public transportation system. The County is also partnering with Farm Power Northwest to demonstrate anaerobic digestion technology that will generate renewable energy using manure produced at dairy farms in King County. The County estimates it will save more than $430,000 annually in energy costs and create more than 160 jobs.

“I am proud of King County’s contributions to improving our environment and our economy,” said Phillips. “Continued federal investment will empower local governments like ours to become true leaders in the clean energy economy.”

Hundreds of local elected officials have already joined Climate Communities’ Energy Block Grants Work! Campaign and are calling on President Obama to fully fund the EECBG program at $2 billion in his FY 2012 budget request to Congress. The campaign is also urging Congress to include an ongoing source of funding for the EECBG program in climate/energy legislation.

“We are very disappointed by the missed opportunity to enact climate legislation that would reward businesses and utilities for reducing their dependence on fossil fuels and create a valuable funding source for innovative local energy efficiency projects across the country,” stated Andrew Seth, executive director of Climate Communities. “It is now even more important for the Administration to include funding for energy efficiency block grants in its FY 2012 budget request to Congress.”

Nationwide, EECBG dollars are creating thousands of new jobs, saving public, commercial and residential energy costs, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

About Climate Communities: Climate Communities is a national coalition of cities and counties that is educating federal policymakers about the essential role of local governments in addressing climate change and promoting a strong local-federal partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For more information, see www.climatecommunities.us. For more information about Climate Communities’ Energy Block Grants Work! Campaign, go to www.energyblockgrants.org.