DOE Ramps Up Retrofit

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has announced a $454 million program designed to catalyze a nationwide energy upgrade that experts estimate could save $100 million annually in utility bills for households and businesses. The Recovery Act’s “Retrofit Ramp-Up” program will pioneer innovative models for rolling out energy efficiency to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in a variety of communities. Much like past roll-outs for cable TV or the Internet, the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Department of Energy intends to create models that, when undertaken nationally, will save consumers billions of dollars on their utility bills and make the huge savings of energy efficiency available to everyone.

“We have the tools to reduce energy use at home and at work and to provide huge savings to families and businesses on their energy bills. But use of these technologies has been far too limited because we lack the simple and effective ways for people to access them,” Chu says.”The Recovery Act will allow innovative communities to demonstrate a variety of Sustainable business models that can be replicated across the country.” For more information about the program, visit .