Department of Energy authorizes projects to back weatherization assistance with Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding
Thanks to $25 million in support from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the U.S. Department of Energy recently announced that 13 projects will expand efforts to lower home energy bills for low-income households.
They will do so through the support of the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). Projects will work with community partners to undertake energy-saving repairs and upgrades to low-income homes, ideally making them more climate-resilient and energy-friendly for families. This is the second round of funding of its kind, following a $37.9 round of awards given to 21 projects in March 2023.
“For more than four decades, the Weatherization Assistance Program has helped over 7 million families save hundreds every year on home energy bills, and now we’re taking the program to the next level,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “We’re expanding the program’s reach to invest in more low-income households and build up a localized clean energy workforce all while keeping money in the pockets of hardworking Americans.”
The projects could be sorted into three areas: multifamily housing, single-family and manufactured housing, and workforce development. Recipients included:
- Southface Energy Institute, Inc. in Georgia – $1.9 million
- New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority in New Mexico – $4.5 million
- Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency in Michigan – $2 million
- New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, Inc. – $1.8 million
- Multnomah County in Oregon – $2 million
- Rebuilding Together New Orleans – $2 million
- Miami-Dade County in Florida – $2 million
- Pierce County, Human Services, Community Action Division in Washington State – $2 million
- Downeast Community Partners in Maine – $1.7 million
- Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley Inc. in Pennsylvania – $1.7 million
- American Association of Blacks in Energy in New Jersey – $2 million
- Faith in Place in Illinois – $1.9 million
- Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development in Maryland – $2 million
Grants were available to existing WAP grantees, subgrantees, and other nonprofit organizations. The selectees will use this money to address underlying issues such as roof and electric repair, support hiring, training, and retention of employees from disadvantaged communities, and more.
