Senate committee hearings scheduled next week for the Home Star Act of 2010
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has unveiled language for proposed legislation authorizing the HOME STAR energy retrofit program, which would allocate $6 billion in federal funds to provide short-term consumer incentives for residential energy improvements. The legislation was designed to stimulate job creation in the construction and manufacturing sectors by giving millions of American homeowners access to substantial rebates for cost-effective efficiency upgrades.
As expected, the language calls for a combination of:
· Prescriptive rebates for eligible efficiency upgrades (the SILVER STAR path)
· Performance-based rebates for whole-home retrofits designed to achieve energy savings of 20 percent or more (the GOLD STAR path)
· Quality assurance and fraud-prevention provisions
· Funding for state and local energy retrofit financing programs to help homeowners pay their share of the upfront costs
The SILVER STAR path would provide rebates up to $3,000 or 50 percent of project costs (whichever is less), with potentially higher rebate amounts available for GOLD STAR projects.
Now that the so-called “discussion draft” has been released, the Senate can move forward with hearings about the proposed legislation – a process that is due to begin next week.
Supporters of the bill are encouraged to contact their Congressional representatives in the House and Senate to press for passage of the legislation. Efficiency First provides a quick and easy way to voice your support at www.efficiencyfirst.org/home-star.
