Budget deficit hits state energy programs, rebates cut. Belt tightening throughout the State of Alaska has reached the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. The state- founded lending agency announced Feb.
Home Energy Rebate Program at the close of business March 2. Applications for energy efficiency improvement funding will be accepted through the late- March date; however reimbursement will be subject to available funds in addition to applicant qualifications. The program held about $5 million as of last December, according to AHFC Director of Public Affairs Stacy Schubert. While AHFC’s primary mortgage business is self- sustaining and it returns an annual dividend to the state General Fund each year, the quasi- government entity also manages programs related to its business for the state when directed by the Legislature. The Home Energy Rebate Program was last funded by the Legislature with an $1. June 2. 01. 4, just prior to the start of oil’s precipitous price slide. Overall, the program has received $2. According to AHFC, about 4. More than 2. 4,5. Another 3,2. 00 households received rebates for new homes built to the six- star efficiency, the highest level of the U. S. Department of Energy’s Energy Star rating system. AHFC Executive Director Bryan Butcher said in a statement that a broad spectrum of Alaskans benefited from the Legislature’s investment in the program beyond just the homeowners.“Independent studies by the University of Alaska’s Institute for Social and Economic Research, Cold Climate Housing Research Center and others have shown increased technical job skills and the program saved an equivalent of 1. ANCHORAGE, AK--(Marketwire - October 13, 2010) - The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) recently announced that AHFC's Home Energy Rebate Program is one of the exceptional state-led energy-efficiency.No. 2 fuel oil, buoying local economies and helping bridge the natural gas shortfall experienced in Southcentral during the brownout practices in 2. Butcher said. Hopeful participants eligible for a rebate have up to 1. The maximum rebate for each home is $1. The direct rebate program may be coming to an end, but AHFC’s longstanding Home Energy Loan Program is alive and well, Schubert said. Under the loan program, borrowers with a mortgage through the corporation can apply for up to a $3. AHFC Home Energy Loan was 3. AHFC is accepting AkWarmTM Energy Ratings performed by AkWarmTM-certified energy raters for the Home Energy Rebate program. In the first seven months of the 2. AHFC financed 8. 7 energy efficiency “add- on” loans, which is nearly an identical activity level to the comparable 2. Schubert. Renewable Energy Fund cut. Gov. Bill Walker turned to the Alaska Energy Authority’s Renewable Energy Fund for savings in his amended 2. The governor cut out a $5 million General Fund appropriation for the fund that he had included in his first 2. December. Each year the governor is required to draft an initial budget proposal for the Legislature by mid- December. Governors then have until mid- February to make changes to their first proposal. Budget Director Pat Pitney wrote to the Legislature’s Finance committees in a Feb. Renewable Energy Fund through sources other than the General Fund. AEA spokeswoman Emily Ford wrote in an email that there would be unintended consequences to eliminating the full $5 million appropriation. Doing so would impact to the authority’s ability to staff and manage the existing 1. Renewable Energy Fund grants that total $1. Ford. The authority is working with the Office of Management and Budget to restore $2 million in receipt authority for the fund through the legislative process. That would allow AEA to administer the ongoing Renewable Energy Fund grants, she wrote. With $2. 71 million in total commitments from the Legislature, the Renewable Energy Fund has helped complete 5. Those projects, with a total cost of about $5. AEA. The fund got an $1. AEA had recommended seven Renewable Energy Fund applications for funding up to the first- presumed $5 million limit for future projects in its latest round nine of fund activity. The authority received 5. Recommended grant applications are ranked each year based on numerous criteria including project cost, cost- benefit ratio, and available applicant matching funds. The projects are then funded based on ranking and the amount of funding made available by the Legislature. Elwood Brehmer can be reached at elwood.
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