Efficiency First

Portland pilot program tests on-bill payoff for energy efficiency improvement financing

Green For All, a national nonprofit focused on promoting green job opportunities for members of disadvantaged communities, has produced an inspiring short video about its partnership with a new retrofit financing program in Portland, Oregon. Prominently featured in the video is Home Performance contractor Bernice Lopez-Dorsey of  H.E.L.P. Group Inc., an active member of Efficiency First.

Clean Energy Works Portland is a pilot program that gives homeowners access to low-interest energy improvement loans with payments appended to the homeowner’s energy bills over the 20-year term of the loan. This innovative citywide collaboration leveraged ARRA seed money to establish a revolving loan fund, with a progressive Community Workforce Agreement in place to assure local hiring and employment opportunities for low-income and minority workers.

Watch the video here:

Five hundred homes are targeted during the initial pilot. The long-term goal of Clean Energy Works Portland is to retrofit100,000 homes and create 10,000 green jobs, most of which will go to local workers in the Portland area.

More information:

www.cleanenergyworksportland.org

www.greenforall.org/portland