Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm recently announced a $434,443 grant for Saginaw County, as part of an overall 125 community, $17.4 million package. The Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant Funding (EECBG), from the State of Michigan - Department of Labor and Economic Growth, will be used to support local energy efficiency projects.

Saginaw County proposed to use EECBG funding to:

• Conduct energy audits on 8-10 Saginaw County municipal facilities, and up to 10 municipal facilities of partner cities and townships within the County.
• Develop an Energy Efficiency, Conservation and Renewable Energy Strategy for Saginaw County and partner with other Great Lakes Bay communities to develop a regional Energy Action Plan
• Create a revolving loan fund that will provide funding for energy efficiency upgrades at County, city and township facilities identified through the audits, and ultimately provide funding also for private sector energy efficiency projects.

The state Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants are funded through the American Recovery Act. DELEG’s Bureau of Energy Systems (BES) awarded the EECBG grants to projects that will create and retain jobs, save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The grant awards generally range from $50,000 to $140,000 for single cities, townships or villages, and up to $650,000 for single counties and multi-jurisdictional recipients.

BES is administering these grants through two separate programs:

1. Multi-purpose competitive grants for smaller communities will support energy efficiency measures such as replacing high-energy systems in municipal buildings and street lighting, creating or expanding community recycling programs, and installing small-scale renewable energy generating systems.
2. Light Emitting Diode/Solid State Lighting (LED/SSL) competitive grants will fund demonstrations of LED/SSL technology in various high-demand applications such as exterior parking, street and traffic lighting.

These Recovery Act funds will assist our ongoing efforts in moving to a clean energy economy. Investing in energy-saving projects throughout Michigan will boost the state’s energy efficiency and renewable energy industries, reduce energy costs for communities and create jobs.

At a time when municipalities are hard-pressed to fund capital improvements, these grants will jump start their efforts and allow them to realize operational savings that can be used to fund other energy efficiency and conservation projects.