Title: Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Leads Effort Resulting in $4.2 Million Stimulus Award

Industry sector: Government

Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Leads Effort Resulting in $4.2 Million Stimulus Award

Renewable and Efficiency Programs to Benefit from Strong Partnership

Rocky Hill, Conn., June 17, 2010 - The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, on behalf of a consortium of 14 Connecticut communities and nine project partners, announced that the “Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge” won a $4.17 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The grant, one of just 20 made across the country, was awarded by the DOE through a competitive solicitation under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The DOE dedicated $60 million nationwide in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) funding to help local governments, nonprofit groups and quasi-public agencies promote energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. The DOE grant funds innovative approaches in energy efficiency and clean energy that achieve significant long-term benefits for the community and act as a model for future public and private investment in smarter energy choices.

“With this grant we have an opportunity to create a new model for how to engage entire communities and their citizens to make energy smart choices,” stated Lise Dondy, President of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and administrator of this grant. “With the state of the economy, volatile energy prices, and disasters like the Gulf oil spill, energy is top-of-mind and this challenge will call our communities to action.”

The Project brings together 14 communities throughout Connecticut with an original team of 9 public, private, academic and non-profit organizations. Project initiatives shall include an innovative online platform involving a personal energy advisor and leader boards for communities, an on-the-ground clean energy community corps, financing to assist homeowners with energy efficiency measures and clean energy installations, performance-based incentives to reward communities for meeting targets and a monitoring program to support both continuous program improvement and investment impact analysis.

The proposed project received the support of the entire Connecticut Congressional delegation, which lent tremendous weight to this application for stimulus funds and demonstrated how Connecticut communities can be a model for transitioning to a clean energy economy.

“We look forward to working hand-in-hand with all the towns, their citizens and the project partners to get started in the coming months,” said Kerry E. O’Neill, President of Earth Markets and program coordinator for the project. “There is something that everyone can do to meet this energy challenge and we will demonstrate to the rest of the country that by working together we can become energy smart communities and cut the amount households spend on energy.”
Over the life of the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge, the project will create and/or retain nearly 400 jobs, reduce an estimated 250,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution, and save households nearly $150 million on their energy bills.

Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge
The project aims to have at least 10 percent of households set specific, measurable goals of 20 percent energy savings and clean energy usage and provides support to help households achieve those goals. The project builds from the award-winning Connecticut Clean Energy Communities program and will help households save energy and boost clean energy usage through a comprehensive portfolio of actions. The actions will be undertaken by a consortium of 14 communities throughout Connecticut, including: Bethany, Cheshire, East Haddam, East Hampton, Glastonbury, Lebanon, Mansfield, Portland, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport, Wethersfield, Wilton and Windham. The project will be implemented by a partnership comprised of nine public, private, academic and nonprofit organizations and funds: AFC First Financial, Clean Water Fund, Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund, Earth Markets, Efficiency 2.0, MIT Field Intelligence Lab/Empower Devices, SmartPower, and the Student Conservation Association.

About the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF)
CCEF was created by the Connecticut General Assembly and is funded by the electric ratepayers. CCEF’s mission is to promote, develop and invest in clean energy sources for the benefit of Connecticut’s ratepayers in order to strengthen Connecticut’s economy, protect community health, improve the environment, and promote a secure energy supply for the state. CCEF is administered by Connecticut Innovations, a quasi-public authority. For more information on CCEF, please visit www.ctcleanenergy.com.