EDF Applauds NY Legislature

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mary Barber, (212) 616-1351, mbarber@edf.org
Evan Thies, (917) 715-9265, erthies@yahoo.com

(New York, NY – November 16, 2009) Environmental Defense Fund applauded the New York State Legislature today for passing historic legislation to save property-owners money by increasing energy efficiency in buildings.

The federal stimulus bill – The American Economic Recovery Act – includes more than $450 million for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing programs to help defray the upfront cost to property-owners for building retrofits and efficiency improvements to save on energy bills. The bills passed today ensure New York’s eligibility for the funds by allowing municipalities to administer them.

“This legislation is an economic shot in the arm that also pays environmental benefits,” said Mary Barber, New York Region Campaign Director for Environmental Defense Fund. “Now the state is well-positioned to get its fair share of federal stimulus funds to enable thousands of New Yorkers to save millions of dollars in energy costs.”

Retrofits of older buildings can create an immediate 20 to 40 percent reduction in energy costs, leading to major savings for building-owners and their tenants. However, many people cannot afford the initial cost of installing energy efficiency and clean energy technology, such as double-insulated windows or solar panels. The PACE-enabling legislation allows municipalities to lessen significantly the impact of these costs by creating an extended loan program for building-owners that lets them pay for the improvements over a long period of time – up to 20 years – instead of all at once.

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