Today president Obama announced that hes recommending the implementation of a new weatherization program “Cash for Caulkers” which would offer financial incentives for homeowners to weatherize their homes.
Two problem with this…
1) This sounds like the road to Stimulus II, and
2) The weatherization program is not new
That right “Stimulus I” included $5 billion for a “Weatherization Assistance Grant Program” of which, less than 1/2 of that money or $2.3 billion has been spent to date. “Cash For Caulkers” was floated again in Nov. prompting Daniel Indiviglio at the Atlantic to say:
Some immediate worries come to mind. For starters, this sounds like a logistical nightmare, as weatherization projects can differ greatly between homes. I also fear that it will be especially ripe for fraud, as there will almost certainly be contractors out there willing to claim that any home renovation qualifies as weatherization.
Shouldn’t we finish spending the money Congress has already authorized before we spend billions on more weatherproofing?
Recovery Act Funding to the States
Here you will find your state allocation from the U.S. Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program under the 2009 Recovery Act and the funding awarded to date. Note that the totals do not include funding reserved for technical assistance and DOE operations.
| State or U.S. Territory | Recovery Act Allocation | Total Funds Awarded to Date |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $71,800,599 | $35,900,299 |
| Alaska | $18,142,580 | $9,071,290 |
| Arizona | $57,023,278 | $28,511,639 |
| Arkansas | $48,114,415 | $24,057,207 |
| California | $185,811,061 | $92,905,530 |
| Colorado | $79,531,213 | $39,765,606 |
| Connecticut | $64,310,502 | $32,155,251 |
| Delaware | $13,733,668 | $6,866,834 |
| District of Columbia | $8,089,022 | $4,044,511 |
| Florida | $175,984,474 | $87,992,237 |
| Georgia | $124,756,312 | $62,378,156 |
| Hawaii | $4,041,461 | $2,020,730 |
| Idaho | $30,341,929 | $15,170,965 |
| Illinois | $242,526,619 | $121,263,310 |
| Indiana | $131,847,383 | $65,923,691 |
| Iowa | $80,834,411 | $40,417,175 |
| Kansas | $56,441,771 | $28,220,885 |
| Kentucky | $70,913,750 | $35,456,875 |
| Louisiana | $50,657,478 | $25,328,739 |
| Maine | $41,935,015 | $20,967,508 |
| Maryland | $61,441,745 | $30,720,872 |
| Massachusetts | $122,077,457 | $61,038,729 |
| Michigan | $243,398,975 | $121,699,488 |
| Minnesota | $131,937,411 | $65,968,705 |
| Mississippi | $49,421,193 | $24,710,596 |
| Missouri | $128,148,027 | $64,074,014 |
| Montana | $26,543,777 | $13,271,889 |
| Nebraska | $41,644,458 | $20,822,229 |
| Nevada | $37,281,937 | $18,640,968 |
| New Hampshire | $23,218,594 | $11,609,297 |
| New Jersey | $118,821,296 | $57,410,648 |
| New Mexico | $26,855,604 | $13,427,802 |
| New York | $394,686,513 | $197,343,256 |
| North Carolina | $131,954,536 | $65,977,267 |
| North Dakota | $25,266,330 | $12,633,165 |
| Ohio | $266,781,409 | $133,390,705 |
| Oklahoma | $60,903,196 | $30,451,598 |
| Oregon | $38,512,236 | $19,256,118 |
| Pennsylvania | $252,793,062 | $126,396,531 |
| Rhode Island | $20,073,615 | $10,036,752 |
| South Carolina | $58,892,771 | $29,446,385 |
| South Dakota | $24,487,296 | $12,243,648 |
| Tennessee | $99,112,101 | $9,911,210 |
| Texas | $326,975,732 | $163,487,866 |
| Utah | $37,897,203 | $18,948,601 |
| Vermont | $16,842,576 | $8,421,288 |
| Virginia | $94,134,276 | $47,067,138 |
| Washington | $59,545,074 | $29,772,537 |
| West Virginia | $37,583,874 | $18,791,937 |
| Wisconsin | $141,502,133 | $70,751,066 |
| Wyoming | $10,239,261 | $5,119,630 |
| American Samoa | $719,511 | $359,755 |
| Guam | $1,119,297 | $559,648 |
| Puerto Rico | $48,865,588 | $24,432,794 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | $795,206 | $397,602 |
| Virgin Islands | $1,415,429 | $707,714 |
| Northern Arapaho | $956,210 | $478,105 |
| Navajo Nation | $9,068,150 | $4,534,075 |
| TOTAL | $4,728,750,000 | $2,364,375,000 |
Highlights of ARRA funding for selected DOE offices and programs are provided in Table 3 below.
Table 3. DOE Funding for Selected Offices and Programs
|
DOE Office or Program |
Funding ($billions) |
||
| Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) |
|
||
| R&D (includes Biomass [$800 million] and Geothermal [$400 million]) |
|
||
| Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants |
|
||
| Weatherizaton Assistance Grant Program |
|
||
| State Energy Grant Program |
|
||
| Grants for Advanced Battery/Battery Component Manufacturing Facilities |
|
||
| Grants for Electric Vehicle Technologies |
|
||
| Total for EERE (including programs not shown above) |
|
||
| Office of Electricity Reliability and Energy Delivery (OE) | |||
| Grid Modernization/Smart Grid/Electricity Storage |
|
||
| Office of Chief Financial Officer | |||
| —Loan Guarantee Program for Renewable Energy and Transmission |
|
||
| Power Marketing Administrations (BPA and WAPA) Transmission |
|
||
| Office of Fossil Energy |
|
||
| Office of Scienceb |
|
||
| Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) |
|
Sources: P.L. 111-5 and H.Rept. 111-16.
a. Most of the EERE subtotal was identified as specific amounts for the particular programs listed. However, DOE was given discretion to decide how to apply the remaining portion (about $600 million) of the subtotal.
b. The majority of funding for the Office of Science supports physics and science programs that are not directly related to energy use.
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