Lynchburg Community Action Group (LYNCAG) hosted its first annual James River Home Ownership Fair in Lynchburg on June 12. The purpose of the Fair was to provide consumers who were interested in purchasing a home an opportunity to interact with banks, realtors, mortgage companies, state and federal housing organizations, credit counselors, and others to learn more about the steps necessary in being a first time home buyer. There were workshops conducted by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) on steps to homeownership and workshops on different loan packages conducted by area banks.
AECP participated as an exhibitor and was able to provide energy education and tips on saving energy in the home to many perspective homebuyers.
Lt. Governor Tim Kaine was the keynote speaker and music was provided by the Spring Hill Choir and the Jefferson Forest High School Jazz Ensemble. The event was extremely informative and well attended. Tom Daniel, AECP Vice-President and Assistant Director of LYNCAG served as master of ceremonies during the day.
GENERAL MOTORS DELIVERS 235 HYBRID BUSES
General Motors delivered 235 hybrid buses to the Seattle, Washington area last week. These buses will be used to provide public transportation to the City of Seattle and surrounding King County. The hybrid buses combine a diesel/electric engine that delivers 60% greater fuel economy than conventional transit buses and can reduce certain emissions up to 90%. General Motors plans to roll out more than 270 of its hybrid buses to 10 cities in 2004. If 13,000 traditional buses were replaced by hybrid diesel/electric models in America’s nine largest cities – over 40 million gallons of fuel would be saved annually.
AECP DIRECTOR DELIVERS KEYNOTE ADDRESS
AECP Executive Director, Billy Weitzenfeld, delivered the keynote address at the opening plenary session of the West Virginia Weatherization Conference on May 25. The audience was comprised of weatherization crews and support staff from around the state. The address focused on the fact that weatherization crews are “the heart and soul” of the program and that the work that they are doing has an impact outside of the home that is being weatherized. It was emphasized that weatherization crews are part of a national energy efficiency work force that is having a positive impact on the environment, utility rates, home health and safety, home affordability, global warming, air pollution, our natural resources, and the economy. Weatherization crews are leaders in the energy industry because the techniques and applications that are used daily in the program are the same building science measures that are driving the green building and energy efficient housing movements in America. The cumulative impact of weatherization work performed nationally is not only paving the way for the rest of the energy industry but is making the world a better place.
An Energy Expo was conducted as part of the Conference and the West Virginia State Office did a fantastic job in planning and implementing this event.
AECP HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING
AECP will hold its annual meeting on Monday, June 21 at the Ramada Inn, 57th and Atlantic, (Room E), in Virginia Beach. The meeting will be from 3:00 to 5:00 and all AECP members are welcome to attend. AECP Officers and Directors will be elected for 2004-2006.
MARYLAND PASSES CLEAN ENERGY BILL
Governor Robert Ehrlich has signed the Maryland Clean Energy Bill. This bill will significantly increase renewable energy production and consumption in Maryland. Currently, Maryland gets less than one% of its electricity from clean renewable energy resources, like wind and solar. This new law requires Maryland utilities to ramp-up the amount of renewable energy to 7.5% by 2014.
Maryland is the fifteenth state to adopt a renewable energy standard that requires a percentage of utility generated power be from renewable resources. The interest in renewable energy technologies in the Mid-Atlantic region is on the rise. Wind is the fastest growing energy sector in the world, and solar power is a close second. As both of these industries expand, production costs continue to decrease; for example, many wind projects are now cost-competitive to natural gas power plants.
Governor Ehrlich also will sign legislation that will expand Maryland’s net metering law. Net metering allows electricity meters to run backward when on site solar or wind power generators produce more electricity than is used.
ENERGY TIP
Changing and/or cleaning window air conditioner filters on a regular basis will allow your unit to operate more efficiently.