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EPA awards City and County of Honolulu $499,000 grant, two Energy Star building awards

Release Date: 03/30/2010
Contact Information: Dean Higuchi, 808-541-2711, higuchi.dean@epa.gov

(03/30/10) HONOLULU – At a ceremony today at Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld presented the City and County of Honolulu with a $499,000 Climate Showcase Communities grant and two Energy Star building awards for Honolulu Hale and the Fasi Municipal Building.

“EPA’s funding will help Honolulu reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money. I congratulate Honolulu’s, residents and businesses for their choice to become less reliant on imported energy,” said Blumenfeld, “EPA and the entire federal family are committed to improving the nation's energy outlook, through projects like Honolulu’s.”

The grant funding will create lasting residential greenhouse gas reductions through community outreach to residents about their energy use, swapping out over 20,000 incandescent bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent and LED bulbs, and develop a Hawaii-specific residential energy audit. The project will also fund ‘green jobs’ training in conducting an energy audit and weatherization work, and the installation of 300 whole-house, real-time energy monitors. Half of the households receiving a monitor will be given a comprehensive energy audit.

The city will work with Blue Planet Foundation, Hawaii Youth Conservation Corps, Kanu Hawaii and local community residents to reduce residential greenhouse gas emissions by over 4.1 tons per year, provide residential savings of approximately $670,000 per year, and reduce electricity use of 2.7 million kWh per year.

“I’m delighted that the EPA considers our City’s proposal to be one of the most creative and innovative in the country,” Mayor Hannemann said. “This Climate Showcase Communities Grant will go a long way toward reducing our dependence on foreign oil, which is a key component of our nationally-recognized 21st Century Ahupuaa City Sustainability Plan.”

Honolulu Hale and the Fasi Municipal Building in Honolulu are two of the latest buildings in Hawaii to be designated an Energy Star Building by EPA’s Energy Star Program. The buildings met Energy Star’s requirements for energy performance, thermal comfort, indoor air quality and lighting levels.

“We appreciate the EPA’s recognition of our administration’s energy conservation efforts, said Hannemann. “We work to lead by example. While Honolulu has the smallest carbon footprint of any major American city, we are constantly striving to improve the impact city facilities have on our environment.”

Energy Star is a government-backed program helping businesses and consumers protect the environment through superior energy efficiency. The Climate Showcase Communities grant program creates replicable models of sustainable community action that generate cost-effective and persistent greenhouse gas reductions while improving the environmental, economic, public health, and social conditions in a community.

For more information on the Energy Star program visit: http://energystar.gov.

For more information on the City and County’s Climate Showcase Communities project visit: https://www.epa.gov/slclimat/local/showcase/marginalized-communities.html

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