Senator Johnson Announces $9.5 Million for Energy Efficiency and Conservation in South Dakota

Stimulus funding continuing to move to local communities

October 1, 2009 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) announced today that South Dakota will receive $9,593,500 from the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG). The funding, from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will be used to help the state improve energy efficiency, reduce fossil fuel emissions and create or save over 100 jobs.

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“I am proud to see funding go to South Dakota to spur energy efficiency, in addition to putting more South Dakotans to work,” said Johnson. “As a member of the Energy Committee, I am pleased to see the stimulus money helping our local communities.”

The EECBG is a program funded for the first time from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and focuses on finding energy savings, reducing harmful emissions and creating jobs across the country. The funding for South Dakota is part of a total of $3.2 billion for more than 2,300 cities, counties and tribes across the country.

South Dakota will use this funding to make the state’s building structures more energy efficient to help the state reach a goal of reducing energy consumption in 2012 to 25 percent of the energy used in 1990.

The State Energy Office will distribute 60 percent of the funding to local governments and 40 percent to provide the capital for a competitive loan and grant program open to public and private organizations, including schools, non-profit organizations and any local governmental projects not previously funded.

Resources from the Recovery Act are continuing to help local communities across South Dakota. Funding has already been distributed to local housing commissions to improve our communities and to cities and towns to continue the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, and for weatherization, the state energy program, rural housing programs, and local health services. Additional resources from the legislation will continue to be distributed in the weeks ahead.

The stimulus package signed by President Obama is focused on tax cuts for the middle class, infrastructure investments and job creation. This funding is a prime example of the kind of resources the legislation provides to help improve communities while advancing South Dakota’s economy.

Source: Senator Tim Johnson