We are staging a 500-home pilot because we recognize the great potential to expand this effort broadly throughout the region in a relatively short timeframe. 

There are many partners involved, from the City and County to Energy Trust to three utilities and a fund manager, so our overall goal is to build capacity during the pilot to prepare for a full-scale rollout.

It’s critically important that we prove this financial model so that we can leverage Recovery dollars into a self-sufficient program that can be taken to scale.

Ideally we hope to retrofit 500 homes by mid 2010.

We want to enable participation by homeowners of various income levels.

We hope to gain an understanding of the most attractive offerings that result in higher conversion from home assessment to installation.

Clean Energy Works Portland is a project of the City of Portland, in collaboration with Multnomah County, Energy Trust of Oregon, NW Natural, Pacific Power and Portland General Electric. Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia, a non-profit, mission-based financial institution manages financing. Local contractors perform the work.

Work Systems, Inc., is supporting the effort as the region's Workforce Investment Board. Green For All is assisting the project in line with their mission of building an inclusive clean energy economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. With American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars as seed money, the US Department of Energy is a significant contributor.

During the pilot, yes. As this is a partnership with Multnomah County, we hope to expand the service area during the full-scale rollout. There is a proposed bill in the legislature called Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Technology (HB 2626), which is designed to enable a similar effort throughout the state.

The core goal of the pilot is to understand if the simplified financing, no up-front costs, and supportive service delivery approaches are effective in overcoming the barriers to move homeowners to take action and follow-through with installation. When the program is brought to scale shortly after the pilot, we’ll engage homeowners throughout the city, as well as renters, commercial building owners and tenants.

Multnomah County runs the local Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), which pays for weatherization of low-income households using federal, state, and utility grant dollars. This longstanding program recently got an influx of additional federal stimulus funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. WAP is a separate program from Clean Energy Works and it uses grant rather than loan money. To qualify, your household income must be at or below 200% of the Federal poverty level. You can contact the Multnomah County Office of School & Community Partnerships at 503.988.6295 x3, or via www.multco.us for more information on how to apply.

In the near term, this program will not support homes heated by oil. Homeowners should contact the State Home Oil Weatherization Program (SHOW) for assistance.

The 500-home pilot is launching this summer. Outreach for a small number of initial homes began in May, and the home energy assessments in July with installations to follow. The first pilot participants could expect to see this update on their utility bills by fall.

An Energy Trust "Energy Advocate" will oversee the home assessment and installation work, helping the homeowner understand recommended measures and financing options. Certain Energy Trust trade allies, trained and certified to Building Performance Institute standards, will conduct technical aspects of the home assessment and install improvements.

Federal prevailing wage applies to work performed in Clean Energy Works Portland. Wages will be at least 180% of state minimum wage, in alignment with the recently-passed statewide Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Technology Act legislation.

Clean Energy Works Portland is supporting a) contractor certification and training systems to ensure high quality work, on-time payback, safe conditions for workers and building residents, and accountability; and b) articulated strategies for establishing career pathways (e.g., from residential to commercial construction) as well as on-ramps to jobs and economic opportunities for low-income and other historically underserved populations. The City of Portland, assisted by Green For All and a broad set of stakeholders, including unions, community organizations, Energy Trust of Oregon, contractors, and construction industry associations, is developing a community workforce agreement addressing these issues. Work Systems, Inc., the region's Workforce Investment Board, is supporting the process through establishing career pathways and leveraging matching US Department of Labor funds to support the training cost of job seekers. A process is underway to deliver a pipeline of trained workers to support the scale-up beyond the pilot.

To align with Energy Trust requirements, efficiency improvements in pilot homes must be installed by our selected pool of licensed, Building Performance Institute Certified contractors. For the pilot, the customer can choose between the current standard Energy Trust service path, which allows some homeowner installation, or the facilitated financing path, which will enable utility bill repayment.

Clean Energy Works Portland funds are seeded by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) dollars granted to the City of Portland specifically to be used for energy efficiency. Multnomah County also intends to use ARRA funds it expects to receive. No City or County services will be reduced to enable the Clean Energy Works Portland.

Yes. Energy Trust of Oregon incentives for eligible improvements will be used to cover front-end customer service costs and to buy down the loan principal. Some of the improvements also are eligible for state and federal tax credits. Oregon Residential Energy Tax Credits are available for duct sealing and high efficiency heating systems. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 includes several provisions modifying and expanding the scope of the energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives. For information see http://www.energytaxincentives.org/general/legislative.php

We are staging a 500-home pilot because we recognize the great potential to expand this effort broadly throughout the region in a relatively short timeframe. Our objective is to test a holistic model from citizen engagement to financial soundness to workforce opportunities that can be successfully adapted for a full-scale rollout. The pilot should create in the neighborhood of 30-40 direct jobs and a multiplier economic impact of nearly $10 million.

We know that buildings are responsible for about 44% of the carbon emissions in the Portland region. Energy use in a typical single family home in Portland creates 18,000 pounds (8 metric tons) of carbon dioxide each year. Until recently, there were very few easy and affordable options for homeowners to take action to reduce the emissions produced through their homes’ energy consumption. This collaboration is a significant step in the right direction

According to a December 2007 study by McKinsey & Co. and The Conference Board entitled “Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost?,” energy efficiency improvements are by far the most cost-effective carbon emission reduction investments. However, building owners are hesitant to invest in energy efficiency because of relatively high up-front costs and fragmented contractor interactions. Our pilot will test creative approaches to overcoming these barriers.

A handful of cities, including Berkeley, CA, Cambridge, MA, and Babylon, NY, have recently launched energy efficiency retrofit programs that offer unique approaches to financing and service delivery. Berkeley’s 40-home solar pilot was fully subscribed in nine minutes. Babylon residents who’ve followed through on retrofits have benefited from an average of 28% decrease in air infiltration, with larger energy savings expected.

The Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Technology Act legislation enacted by the Oregon Legislature in 2009 includes similar goals and approaches to Clean Energy Works: Portland. The Portland pilot was launched before the bill was passed and is now being looked to by the Oregon Department of Energy as a model to be integrated into the larger statewide framework.