American Recovery And Reinvestment Act
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The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources promotes Energy Efficiency through Performance Contracting, Utility Based Incentives Programs, Energy Outreach and facilitating initiatives that save energy and energy dollars for the benefit of all Rhode Islanders.
In 1991, the Energy Conservation Revolving Loan Fund was created with monies provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The Fund became an important vehicle for state agencies to conduct cost-effective energy conservation activities as utility company rebates were paying less and less of the share of the projects as part of their Demand Side Management Programs. In 1995, legislation was signed by the Governor which added the availability of funding water conservation, and water and sewer cost reduction measures.
The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources expanded the Revolving Loan Program to include municipalities effective January 1, 1999. Direct funding from DOE for the Institutional Conservation Program (ICP), a 50-50 matching grant for schools, was eliminated and is now replaced with the Fund to create a self-perpetuating fund not only for state agencies but also municipal buildings. In addition, the Fund began funding the incremental cost of alternatively fueled vehicles effective January 1, 1999.
The Office of Energy Resources is interested in receiving proposals from municipalities that wish to implement energy and/or water conservation projects within their facilities, or purchase alternatively fueled vehicles and fund these projects using the Energy Revolving Loan Fund. The utility companies also offer incentive programs to help defray the cost of these projects. The Fund is a low-cost funding mechanism which helps create a positive cash flow in utility budgets.
