City-Scale Retrofit Programs Satya Rhodes-Conway COWS June 18, 2009 COWS “Milk for the Movement” Research center at UW Madison “Think-and-do tank” for high-road economic development Good jobs and clean energy.
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City-Scale Retrofit Programs
Satya Rhodes-Conway COWS June 18, 2009
COWS
“Milk for the Movement” Research center at UW Madison “Think-and-do tank” for high-road economic development Good jobs and clean energy
The Problem(s)
High energy use and bills GHG emissions Inefficient buildings Cost of improvements Hard to get and pay back a loan Unemployment Dead-end jobs
Buildings cause: 38.9% of U.S. energy use 38% of U.S. CO2 emissions Low-income households spend 14% of their income on energy, compared with 3.5% by other American households
The Solution: Energy Efficiency Retrofits
Measures like: air sealing insulation lighting and appliance upgrades Relatively low-cost Reduce energy bills Cost-effective GHG reduction Can provide good, entry level jobs
Pete Davis
Costs and Savings
from 10-year payback measures in Milwaukee, WI Rental Owner Occ*
Total # Units Avg. Cost
126,793 83,052
209,845
$1,278 $911
$1,158 Total Cost
$162.0M
$95.8M
$243.1M
Avg. unit annual savings Total annual savings
$482 $251
$397
$61.1M
$22.2M
$83.3M
*Units with most need for retrofits: owner occupied built before 1960 and all rental properties
Who Does this?
Energy Service Corporations (ESCOs) and/or large contractors (large industrial or institutional buildings) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) contractors (low-income residential properties) small contractors (private residential or commercial properties)
Sammy Avedon, Town of Babylon
Why isn’t this enough?
Funding available only to: income-eligible individuals individuals with sufficient up front capital to pay for the work Rely on inefficient referral systems or trust customers to come to them Residential or commercial buildings, but not both Variable job quality and advancement opportunities
Sammy Avedon, Town of Babylon
City-Scale Retrofit Programs
Four key components:
Capture the financial savings from retrofits and use them to pay back the loan Any jobs created are good jobs and provide training for a career pathway Achieve economies of scale and consider including both residential and commercial buildings Target the program to low-income communities, both in terms of where the work is done and who is hired to do it
City-Scale Retrofit Programs
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Issues to Address
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Financing Establishing the Coordinating Entity(ies) Technology and Materials Job Training Community Access to Jobs Working with Unions Ensuring Job Quality Ensuring Retrofit Quality Targeting by Geography and Building Type Marketing Customer Service/Service Delivery Certification of Savings Secure Cost-Recovery Evaluation and Improvement
How to set up a program: Key Areas
Stakeholders Involve as many as possible Policy Do you need changes to state or local law?
Program Structure Who manages?
Targeting and Marketing “One stop shop” Quality Control and Evaluation Financing and Repayment Labor Standards and Workforce Development
Financial Structure
A revolving loan fund
with on-bill repayment
that follows the property or the meter
Revolving loans make funding available into the future – long after ARRA is gone and the grants are spent Allows convenient payment from energy savings Not a personal loan – a service to improve the property
Financing
Sources: Energy Efficiency And Conservation Block Grants 20% can be used for loan funds Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds Municipal bonds State public benefits funds Don’t forget about rebates and tax incentives
Repayment
Utility Bill Portland, Michigan Municipal Services Bill Milwaukee Benefit or Local Improvement Assessment Districts Babylon, Berkeley, Boulder
Labor Standards
A green job is a good job: Higher than poverty wages Paid sick leave Health care benefits Job security Safe working conditions Organizing rights Pathways to advancement Alliance for Affordable Energy
Workforce Development
Don’t reinvent the training wheel Build on established training pathways in state and local workforce systems Apprenticeship is a well established pathway to a good job Targeted hiring from disadvantaged communities
Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership
Entry Level Construction Skills (ELCS)-Weatherization Certificate Initial Assessment and Community Partners Employer-Driven Training Leveraging Resources for Training Mentoring and Worker Support
More Information:
Efficiency Cities Network www.efficiencycities.us
Satya Rhodes-Conway [email protected]
608 262 5387 Available at http://cows.org/pdf/rp-retrofit.pdf
The green wave is coming: Will it lift all boats?
For more information: www.cows.org