Grants for Green Housing
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),”The average household spends $2,000 annually on energy bills–over half of which goes to heating and cooling” Fortunately, in the past few decades a variety of licenses for green housing have been based on the state, national and local levels. Grants are offered for a variety of classes, including industrial building providers, consumers, non-profit organizations and associations.
Enterprise Grants
Enterprise Green Communities provides housing development associations with green housing grants. Even the Charrettes grants are issued to housing professionals, including tribal nonprofit and for-profit classes associated with tribal or non-profit organizations. The grant is intended to help housing development at the design and construction stages. For post-construction housing that is green, Sustainability Training Grants are offered by Enterprise. These grants allow housing organizations to instruct employees in housing methods that are green, in addition to distribute educational materials. Training Grants are only available to cooperative classes that are for-profit or groups. The Charrettes and Sustainability Training Grants are for a maximum amount of $5,000. Green Communities Initiative (Enterprise) 10227 Wincopin Circle, Suite 500 Columbia, MD 21044 410-964-1230 greencommunitiesonline.org
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Program
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Program (EECBP) offers a variety of green home licenses to be able to”help U.S. cities, counties, states, territories, and Indian tribes to build, market, implement, and manage energy conservation and efficiency projects and programs.” Total funding is $3.2 billion. Create jobs EECBP grants are intended to further reduce fuel waste, and make transportation and building more energy-efficient. Nearly all the funds have been issued on the city, county and state levels. EECBP grants are dispersed locally by the National Association of State Energy Officials (see Resources). National Association of State Energy Officials 1414 Prince St., Suite 200 Alexandria, VA 22314 703-299-8800 naseo.org
Local and state Grants
Green housing grants are provided on the country or local levels. In Alameda, California, for instance, Alameda Municipal Power (AMP) offers a weatherization program for qualified AMP clients. The grants are offered for up to $960 per unit and will pay for 70% of material costs that are weatherization. In San Francisco, citizens are offered grants of up to $ 7,000 for installation of photovoltaic systems, which can be solar-powered by the Public Utilities Commission, on properties. The grants are also given to commercial and non-profit associations. For information on other local and state programs, check out the online Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) (see Resources). Alameda Municipal Power 2000 Grand St. Alameda, CA 94501 510-748-3900 alamedamp.com San Francisco Public Utilities Commission 1155 Market St. San Francisco, CA 94103 415-551-4318 sfwater.org