Kayah Swanson, kayah.swanson@sierraclub.org
PORTLAND, OR - Today, the Department of Energy (DOE) released guidance for states to apply for the new Home Energy Rebates Program. The program, created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), will distribute a total of $8.5 billion dollars in formula grants for states to deliver home electrification and efficiency rebates to help consumers better afford upgrades that will lower utility bills, improve home comfort and resilience, and reduce indoor and outdoor air pollution. Oregon is eligible to receive $113,760,690 million to distribute to consumers.
The program comes as local governments and the state legislature have been moving forward with policy to electrify new and existing buildings. In the past year, multiple Oregon cities including Eugene, Ashland, and Milwaukie have been developing policies to require that new buildings are all electric. Just last month, the legislature passed an historic package to transition large buildings off of fossil fuels, and increase access to high efficiency heat pumps while taking advantage of federal funding in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Each state will develop its own rebates program based on the guidance laid out by DOE. Once the state program is developed, DOE will approve its rollout. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through January 2025, with consumer rebates expected to be available to consumers in many states by late 2023 or early 2024.
As Oregon begins to use this federal guidance, Sierra Club Oregon is urging officials to coordinate state and federal funding for weatherization, electrification, and home health and safety repairs into one streamlined whole-home retrofit program with this IRA funding to maximize benefits and reduce red tape. Officials should also ensure robust stakeholder feedback, find ways to include and protect renters, and put a primary focus on delivering rebates to low-income households. DOE guidance requests states allocate at least half of program funds to reach low-income households and prepare Community Benefits Plans to assure funds are invested in good jobs and real economic opportunities.
The Home Energy Rebates Program will improve the liveability and energy affordability of homes across Oregon. DOE estimates consumers will save up to $1 billion each year in energy costs.
It will also help grow the job market and boost manufacturing for energy efficient appliances, “supporting an estimated 50,000 U.S. jobs in residential construction, manufacturing, and other sectors,” according to DOE. A companion program, called the Contractor Training Program, provides states with funds to “train, test, and certify residential energy efficiency and electrification contractors.”
In response, Sierra Club Senior Field Organizer Dylan Plummer released the following statement:
The use of polluting fracked gas in homes and buildings is a significant source of emissions in Oregon, and poses a serious threat to health and safety. With these rebates coming online, combined with the State legislature’s passage of landmark policy to support electrification, Oregon is well positioned to equitably transition off of dangerous fossil fuels in buildings, reducing emissions while investing in healthy and resilient homes. In the face of increasingly frequent climate driven heat waves in the state, officials must act swiftly to ensure that low-income households and renters have access to heat pumps and the low cost, life saving cooling that they provide.
Aya Cockram, Coalition Coordinator with the Fossil Free Eugene Coalition, said:
As local governments like Eugene are working to reduce emissions and protect residents by transitioning buildings off of methane gas, these rebates will significantly reduce barriers to electrification and support local leaders to meet their climate goals, while protecting vulnerable communities. Our coalition is committed to ensuring that all members of our community can access the benefits of the clean energy transition, and the release of these funds puts us one step closer to making that a reality. Despite the gas industry’s aggressive misinformation campaigns, it is more clear than ever that Oregon’s future is all-electric.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.