Reported by CEN Staff

The Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) has announced a slate of new partnerships today with homebuilder associations, community organizations, businesses, utilities and local governments across the state in a major push to support the construction of energy-efficient ENERGY STAR New Homes and advance the New Energy Economy in Colorado.

New efforts teaming the GEO and its regional partners for 2009 include more training programs, rebates and mortgage interest rate discounts designed to increase construction of new homes that meet the standards for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR label.

“In Colorado we know that how we build our homes today directly influences how we consume energy tomorrow,” said GEO director Tom Plant. “We are excited to see so many homebuilders and community partners embrace the promise of ENERGY STAR New Homes.”

ENERGY STAR New Homes are typically 20 to 30 percent more efficient than standard homes, improving quality and comfort while reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Here’s a breakdown of how partners are teaming with the GEO to increase construction of ENERGY STAR New Homes.

The GEO has formed new partnerships with six Colorado Homebuilder Associations, (HBA): Summit County Builders Association, HBA of Northwestern Colorado, Mountain to Mesa HBA, Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs, HBA of Northern Colorado, and HBA of Metro Denver. The GEO awarded $42,250 in grant funding to the six associations to support ENERGY STAR New Home training programs for homebuilder and industry members. The homebuilder associations will be coordinating local ENERGY STAR New Home events during the next three months.

* The GEO is promoting a new “Colorado ENERGY STAR Mortgage” product. The lending program is a pilot effort operated in partnership by the GEO and the Bank of Colorado, and will allow for purchasers of an ENERGY STAR New Home to qualify for up to a ½ point interest rate discount on a new home loan.
* The GEO also announced the availability of its ENERGY STAR New Home rebate program for Colorado homebuilders. State homebuilders who construct a qualifying ENERGY STAR New Home between March 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009 can apply for a $300 per home rebate. The GEO’s rebate program is offered to all homes that do not have an ENERGY STAR rebate offered by their local utility.
* The GEO has selected 11 partners that will receive matching grants totaling $248,500 to support a variety of activities designed to increase construction of ENERGY STAR New Homes in their regions. The 11 award recipients will, in turn, team with more than 50 counties, cities, utilities and non-profits to work closely with residential builders to help them earn the ENERGY STAR label for new homes.

The 2009 ENERGY STAR New Homes Program Partners are:

City and County of Denver: Community Planning & Development
Colorado Springs: Colorado Springs Utilities, Pikes Peak ENERGY STAR
Pitkin County: Pitkin-Garfield Homebuilders Association, City of Aspen, Town of
Basalt, Community Office of Resource Efficiency
San Miguel County: The New Community Coalition, Town of Telluride, Town of Mountain Village, San Miguel Power Association, Telluride Association of Realtors
Routt County: City of Steamboat Springs, Yampa Valley Sustainability Council, Mountain Energy Consultants
Garfield County: Garfield County New Energy Communities, Mountain to Mesa Homebuilders Association
Chaffee County: Chaffee County, City of Salida, Sangre De Cristo Electric Association, Xcel Energy, Headwaters Energy and Finance, Chaffee County Home Builders Association, Collegiate Peaks Bank, Hylton Lumber, First Colorado Land Office, Colorado Mountain College.
Mesa County: Housing Resources of Western Colorado, City of Grand Junction, City of Fruita, Town of Palisade, Frostbusters & Coolth
La Plata County: HBASC, 4CORE, Archuleta County, City of Durango, La Plata Electric Association, Town of Ignacio, Town of Pagosa Springs
City of Fort Collins: Fort Collins Utilities, Town of Berthoud, Larimer County, City of Longmont, Longmont Power & Communications, Platte River Power Authority, Poudre Valley REA, Town of Severance, United Power, Town of Windsor, Xcel Energy, HBANCO
Summit County: High Country Conservation Center, Town of Frisco, Town of Breckenridge

“We want to support communities that are interested in investing in the New Energy Economy but need assistance in rolling out a local program,” Plant said. “This program is designed to help communities achieve higher levels of energy efficiency, control pollution, and better manage their energy usage. Additionally, GEO is interested in working with any communities that wish to go beyond this program in promoting energy efficiency, and we will support these extra efforts.”

On March 31, Gov. Bill Ritter accepted an EPA 2009 Energy Star Partner of the Year Award during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on behalf of GEO and its statewide partners. In 2008, 2,109 new homes in Colorado earned the ENERGY STAR label, a record 19 percent market share of all new home construction and up dramatically from 8 percent in 2006.

For additional information, visit www.coloradoenergystarhomes.com/.