Cities rush to turn 'green' with $3.2 billion of federal green

[jay]

Which projects have been proposed for the city of Youngstown?

Who would know the actual carbon footprint for the city?

[irishbobcat]

Cities rush to turn 'green' with $3.2 billion of federal green

By EVAN LEHMANN, ClimateWire
Published: June 2, 2009
Officials in hundreds of cities across the country are scrambling to find ways to spend billions of federal dollars that could make their carbon footprint smaller. Driven by tight deadlines, they need projects that create jobs, promote efficiency and fight global warming. In the process, they are learning that the impending cloudburst of federal cash can be both a "godsend" and a headache.


The   release of $3.2 billion in new climate-related block grants stands to spark an energy-saving revolution in tiny towns like Wahpeton, N.D. And it promises to thrust emission-belching metropolises into a cleaner trajectory. But the sudden flow of federal funding is raising questions about whether many of these communities are really ready for it.
Some 1,000 cities and counties have direct access to the new entitlement account, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. They have until June 25 to submit plans, but that's a challenge, because most haven't received federal grants for energy projects before.
Many communities are having trouble retaining enough police officers, let alone hiring sustainability professionals who understand how to establish energy efficiency programs that will evolve into long-term savings in power and money, experts say.
"Some cities are ready for this, others aren't," said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the Energy Programs Consortium, which helps state energy programs establish efficiency policies.
Tiny towns urged to 'think big'
The program is poised to drop $2.74 billion on the 10 largest cities and counties in every state. Another $456 million will be awarded competitively. Many local officials, it appears, will be plunging into climate policy for the first time. The jolt is magnified by this deadline: The money must be reducing energy output within 18 months.
"Our concern is that there are very few cities in the country that are able to use this money in a rapid fashion. There's a lot of learning," said Mark Sinclair, vice president and chief operating officer of the Clean Energy Group.
Cities like San Francisco and New York can plug the money into existing efficiency programs. But others might struggle. The grants will go to places like Cody, Wyo., with a population of 8,835, and Wahpeton, N.D., population 8,585, which markets itself as "the most industrialized city in North Dakota." Scores of other small and medium-sized cities are automatically eligible for funding.
In Las Cruces, N.M., the city's grant writer, Auguie Henry, is drafting the greenhouse gas reduction strategy that will be submitted with the energy efficiency grant application. He knows about grants, but not so much about climate change. So he has turned to New Mexico State University for help.
Las Cruces expects to receive $888,000. Henry said it will help pay for a solar array and "all the green stuff" on an old adobe bank the city is converting into a natural history museum that will be certified under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines. The project will cost about $6 million.
The city is trying to hire a sustainability manager, a move that could make Henry's job easier. "It's part of the city's long-term program to 'go green,' I guess, is the popular term to use," he said.
DOE tries to push grantees beyond more efficient light bulbs
The Department of Energy recently extended the deadline for cities to submit their grant applications. The process is arduous. And city officials attending a recent question-and-answer event with the DOE's point person clamored for technical answers about the federal paperwork. What constitutes a proper energy efficiency program? local officials asked over and over.
Saving energy with new light bulbs and insulation would be a "wasted" opportunity, answered Mark Bailey, DOE's local and state team leader.
"Think big. Think carbon trading markets. Think outside the box," he urged local officials.
That could mean using the federal money to attract private financing for larger projects. Bundling it into loans, for example, could earn revenue through interest. That could mean a program lasts longer and grows bigger.
The bottom line is the Obama Administration gave out little information how to make these Green grants. Now, Green industry, manufacturing, companies, and technologies may suffer because America was not prepared for a Green Economy because of our constant belief in old time fossil fuel usage that folks like Charlie Wilson hang out in front of us like a carrot in front of a donkey's wagon.
Dennis Spisak
Mahoning Valley Green Party   
Ohio Green Party
www.ohiogreens.org           
www.votespisak.org/thinkgreen/