WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, on the third day of Clean Energy Week, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu addressed key administration clean energy initiatives and highlighted the President’s commitment to sign comprehensive energy and climate legislation.
In Washington, Secretary Donovan addressed the HOPE VI Green Building and Energy Efficient Development Conference, a gathering of public housing officials, energy experts, developers and architects, and encouraged continuing innovation in developing energy-efficient, affordable housing. In San Francisco, Secretary Chu attended the Edison Electric Institute Annual Convention to announce new Recovery Act funding for clean energy projects.
HOPE VI is a HUD-developed program that revitalizes severely distressed public housing and rebuilds the housing to create energy-efficient, mixed-income communities. HOPE VI grants, first awarded in 1993, have given 248 communities a combined $5.9 billion to redevelop their severely distressed public housing and to create mixed-income communities. The program has also been credited with transforming neighborhoods and improving the quality of life for families who lived in the old developments that were often crime-ridden and drug-infested. HOPE VI recipients have the opportunity to replace the old public housing with new housing using the latest green innovations that can save both the housing authority and residents’ energy expenses over time.
“President Obama is committed to passing comprehensive energy and climate legislation that will generate millions of jobs, reduce the threat of deadly pollution and restore America’s role as a global leader in the clean energy industry,” Donovan said. “Increasing energy efficiency among American’s affordable housing stock is a central goal of both HUD and the Obama Administration, because it will not only create jobs, but will also lower operating costs for residents, public housing authorities and taxpayers.”
In San Francisco, Secretary Chu addressed the Edison Electric Institute Annual Convention to announce a total of more than $154 million for State Energy Programs in California, Missouri, New Hampshire and North Carolina. Each of the states is receiving 40 percent of their total State Energy Program funding authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funding will go toward clean energy initiatives such as training workers for clean energy jobs, increasing energy efficiency in buildings across the states and increasing renewable energy projects.
“This funding will provide an important boost for state economies, help to put Americans back to work, and move us toward energy independence,” said Secretary Chu. “It reflects our commitment to support innovative state and local strategies to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy while insisting that taxpayer dollars be spent responsibly.”
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