NGA Center program to help six states improve buildings’ energy efficiency
The Washington-based National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) has announced the six states selected to participate in its Policy Academy on State Building Efficiency Retrofit Programs, which aims to help states develop strategies to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings and reduce costs and emissions. Through the Policy Academy, the six states — Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin — will explore new funding and financing mechanisms, building energy-use benchmarking tools, targeted education and outreach measures, and workforce training programs.
The purpose of the Policy Academy program is to help states design larger-scale building retrofit programs that lead to lower energy use, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the creation of new jobs. “Most energy efficiency efforts have focused on new construction or the low-income sector only, often ignoring the substantial energy savings available by retrofitting existing buildings,” said John Thomasian, director of the NGA Center, in a statement. “This Policy Academy will help states realize energy savings across the board, through comprehensive building retrofits programs.”
States participating in the Policy Academy receive guidance and technical assistance from NGA Center staff and faculty experts and consultants from the private sector, research organizations, academia and the federal government. The Policy Academy is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, which has responsibility for $11 billion in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to retrofit and weatherize buildings, along with additional funding to deploy other efficiency and renewable technologies.
Read more information about this Policy Academy and other NGA Center Environment, Energy &Natural Resources Division efforts.
