Durham City/County Sustainability Office
City of Durham American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Funding
City of Durham American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Funding
Durham received $2,173,600 as part of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The goals of this program are increasing economic activity (job creation) and reducing energy use. More information about the program can be found at www.eecbg.energy.gov. Durham’s Sustainability Office is responsible for managing this grant and working with other City departments to implement the funded projects. The Department of Community Development is providing administrative support to the Sustainability Office for this program. All funding must be spent by August 2012.
City Facility Projects
The City is using approximately half of the funding to pay for capital projects identified within City-owned structures and some vehicle purchases. The benefits of these upgrades will be to reduce energy use in City operations, thus saving taxpayer dollars and helping us reach our greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. These projects include installing LED lighting in a parking garage and at the South Durham Water Reclamation Facility, adding solar hot water systems to three fire stations, improving air flow in the Technology Solutions Department server room, beginning the performance contracting process, hiring an energy program specialist, completing an energy audit and some upgrades to four fire stations, purchasing efficient vehicles, and implementing a system to better track the City’s energy use.
Community Projects
The City is using the other half of the funds for a neighborhood-based, energy-efficiency program. This Neighborhood Energy Retrofit Program (NERP) focuses on installing a few highly effective upgrades in existing residences in Durham, with a target of reducing energy use by 20 percent in participating homes. Home retrofits are paired with neighbor-to-neighbor training on additional easy, no- or low-cost efficiency upgrades. The City is working in nine neighborhoods during this pilot program and reaching roughly 350 homes. The City received and additional $500,000 in non-stimulus funding from the US EPA’s Climate Showcase Communities Grant Program to complete another 340 homes in seven more neighborhoods. More information on NERP can be found at www.durhamnc.gov/NERP.
For information about any EECBG project, contact Tobin Freid, Durham city-county sustainability manager by e-mail or at (919) 560-7999.
Proposed EECBG Projects
| Project | Stimulus Work | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Solar hot water | Install solar hot water systems at three fire stations | $28,056 |
| Church Street Parking Deck | Install LED lights | $175,500 |
| SDWRF lights LED | Replace 140 SDWRF outside pole lights with LEDs | $$101,000 |
| TS airflow management system | Change TS server room configuration to improve air flow/cooling | $24,487 |
| Transit vans | Incremental cost of seven hybrid vans for DATA ACCESS | $375,000 |
| Energy management software | Purchase software and hardware to be able to monitor real-time energy use in City facilities |
$39,961 |
| Performance contracting | 3rd party owner's rep to help with performance contracting | $35,900 |
| Fire station upgrades | Energy audits and retrofits | $131,060 |
| Residential efficiency upgrade program | Residential efficiency upgrades in targeted neighborhoods | $992,173 |
| Electric vehicles | Purchase electric vehicles and charging stations | $100,010 |
| Energy program | Hire an energy program specialist to assist in reducing energy use and greenhouse gases in the government and community |
$170,454 |
| Total |
$2,173,600 |