Source: http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/2399/

US Energy Secretary Steven Chuyesterday announced a $450 million programme aimed at rolling out energyefficiency building retrofits across homes and businesses.

The ‘Retrofit Ramp-Up’ programme,funded by the AmericanReinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), aims to pioneer innovative models formaking energy efficiency technologies more widely available and encourage theiradoption.

“Energy efficiency isn’t justlow-hanging fruit, it’s fruit lying on the ground,” said Energy SecretarySteven Chu.

“But use of these technologieshas been far too limited because we lack the simple and effective ways for peopleto access them,” he added.

The first stage of the Energy Efficiency andConservation Block Grant (EECBG) programme will focus on community-scaleretrofit projects.

Up to $390 million will be availablefor whole-neighbourhood retrofits, with up to $64 earmarked for local Indiantribe governments.

These first large-scale retrofitswill serve as national role models for other energy efficiency efforts, says Chu.

“The aim of the ‘RetrofitRamp-Up’ programme is to jump-start an industry that makes energy efficiencysavings easy to access and available to everyone,” said Chu.“We hope tune-ups for buildings will become as accepted as tune-ups for cars.”

The plans are open for publiccomment until September 28, 2009 and will be followed by the first fundingsolicitation in early October.

An additional $354 million isalso being awarded to the EECBG programme from ARRA to support energyefficiency and conservation activities in 22 states.