Greening New Orleans?

Moving down here from Massachusetts to work on developing an energy efficiency retrofit program, I am trying to familiarize myself with a whole new energy efficiency landscape.  In Massachusetts, energy efficiency (ee) retrofit programs have been provided by the local gas and electric utilities for almost a decade.  The mechanisms for deploying the additional funding coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are much more clearly defined than here in Louisiana.

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with John Moore, Environmental Policy Analyst for the City of New Orleans.  He directed me to the GreeNOLA plan, written by our very own Sushi Night hosting Jeff Schwartz.  Jeff co-wrote the plan two summers ago as an MIT DUSP intern in the Office of Recovery and Development.  The plan has since languished on a shelf, but with the new national focus on Energy Efficiency as a key to the economic stimulous, GreeNOLA is back on the table.   

New Orleans, like cities across the country, must submit a plan to spend $2.4 million in Energy Efficiency Community Block Grants from the ARRA.  Up to 20% of this funding can be used for technical assistance for local non-profits to develop Energy Efficiency (EE) retrofit and audit programs.  This is a key stream of funding at a time when local non-profit are struggling to make their budget in a down economy.

To truly green the city, New Orleans has some interesting advantages and disadvantages compared to other cities.  The State of Louisiana does not have a coordinated energy audit program.  The energy audit is the key first step to determining the EE needs of a building. But, because New Orleans regulates its utility separately from the rest of the state, the city has the power to create its own program. Currently there are four programs competing in the city:

HERO - Run by the state of Louisiana.  Provides rebates to homeowners installing EnergyStar rated appliances.

EnergySmart - Potential City of New Orleans program - Passed by the city council last summer. Currently unfunded.

Clear Result - Entergy New Orleans program providing energy specialist training (not a full energy auditor training) at Delgado Community College.

Total Community Action Network - Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) provider in New Orleans.  Federally funded program targeted to low-income populations.  This program will also be receiving money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, separate from the block grants.

It would be great to see the city use the GreeNOLA plan to coordinate the work of these four programs.  Since so many homes in the city are still undergoing repairs from Katrina, this is a very unique situation where there could be a high penetration rate of a well designed EE program in a very short period of time.  

In a city where the A/C runs from May through October, the money saved from Energy Efficient retrofits in no small chunk of change.