Biden reveals a new budget to make homes more energy efficient
Key takeaways:
- On Wednesday, the Biden administration revealed new plans to pay $3.16 billion to retrofit hundreds of thousands of houses in low-income neighborhoods by making them more energy efficient.
- The acquisition comes from President Biden’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law the previous year.
- It will support the federal government’s Weatherization Assistance Program, which boosts homes by installing insulation, updating heating and cooling systems, and switching to new electrical devices.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration declared new plans to pay $3.16 billion to retrofit hundreds of thousands of houses in low-income neighborhoods to make them more energy-efficient while reducing utility bills for Americans.
The acquisition comes from President Biden’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law the previous year. It will support the federal government’s Weatherization Assistance Program, which is prepared to upgrade homes by installing insulation, updating heating and cooling systems, and switching to new electrical devices, among other items.
During a news briefing on Wednesday, White House officials said the new grant would let the program retrofit nearly 450,000 homes, significantly increasing the approximately 38,000 homes it presently serves each year.
“Home energy retrofits and upgrades – like electrification, heat pumps, LED lighting, insulation, and packing up leaks – can cut monthly energy bills for households and enhance the air we breathe,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm stated in a statement.
“We will be able to assist families in disadvantaged neighborhoods, lower carbon emissions, and generate good-paying local jobs in every corner of America,” Granholm stated.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency calculations, electricity production from businesses and houses represents approximately 13% of the nation’s climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions.
The grant will carry forward Biden’s pledge to cut emissions in half by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by mid-century.
The program also enforces the administration’s Justice40 commitment, which needs federal agencies to have at least 40% of advantages from specific budgets to disadvantaged neighborhoods.