Tagged: green jobs green new york

A new program launched by New York's Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) earlier this week aims to make it easier for homeowners to pay for energy efficiency upgrades.

The new initiative is part of the Green Jobs Green New York program, and it's called an "on-bill recovery loan." 

The program allows homeowners to get a low interest loan to finance up to $25,000 worth of energy efficiency upgrades to their homes - everything from improved insulation, to a new boiler, or energy efficient appliances.

The way they pay back that loan? Paying their power bill.

The wheels are finally turning on a new-ish state program, designed to improve the energy efficiency of New York's aging housing stock. 

Green Jobs Green New York (GJGNY) tries to kill two birds with one stone: it diagnoses and funds energy efficient makeovers of old structures, with the result being the creation of so-called "green collar" construction jobs.

It also sets out to answer another age-old question: Can I trust this contractor?

A new report out from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) declares the compact between nine northeastern and mid-Atlantic states to cap and then trade their carbon emissions a resounding success.

To review, here's how RGGI (pronounced affectionately by those in the know as "Reggie") works.  Power companies agree to caps on how much pollution they can make.  And to emit that pollution, they have to buy the right, by bidding on "carbon credits" (sold by the ton), at auctions.  Companies don't want to pony up the cash, so they're incentivized to cut their emissions.  The cash from the auctions gets used on green projects that reduce carbon, and total atmospheric carbon drops.  Theoretically.

Home weatherization is renewable energy’s less glamorous, low-tech, little sister. The government and green industry advocates also think it’s a way to create green jobs.

That's why the stimulus invested $5 billion in the government's retrofit program for low-income homes and why NYSERDA will be administering over $100 million through Green Jobs, Green NY. The program was rolled out this month to subsidize energy audits of households making below 200 percent of their area's median income, and to extend loans for making improvements.

But for the construction industry, which has one of the highest unemployment rates nationwide, green jobs offer a promise tempered by what can really only be called a harsh reality.

Passed by the New York Assembly, Green Jobs Green New York is aimed at improving energy efficiency in aging homes, using labor provided by minority and women-owned businesses. But more than a year after its passage, community groups in Buffalo and around the state say that’s not happening.

With an initial budget of $112 million, Green Jobs Green New York is tasked with creating 14,000 jobs weatherizing homes across the state. The work would including caulking, repairing heating and cooling systems and replacing windows.