1/6/2011 - West Side Leader
     

Akron offers incentives for energy-efficient construction

AKRON — The city of Akron has announced financial rebate availability to assist prospective private owners and individual home builders/contractors with new residential single-family home construction projects with energy-efficiency benchmarks.

Incentives are designed to make the building process more affordable as the home builder pursues energy efficient and/or renewable technologies, according to city officials. 

Multiple rebate levels are contingent on energy performance. Newly built homes that attain a score of 50 on the E-Scale are eligible for a $15,000 rebate, while a home with an E-Scale rating of 10 is eligible for a $25,000 rebate. Additional rebate levels are: 40-31: $17,500; 30-21: $20,000; and 20-11: $22,500.

Administered by the Department of Planning and Urban Development, the funding is available via the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), part of the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act of 2009. EECBG is designed to stimulate economic recovery strategies predicated on the reduction of fossil fuel emissions, total energy use and improvement of energy efficiency in transportation, building and other sectors.

“By offering these incentives to prospective home builders, we, as a city, can more fully grasp the concept of urban sustainability while making these homes more attractive to new home buyers,” Planning Director John Moore stated in a press release.

The program also aligns with the “Greenprint for Akron,” a citywide sustainability initiative receiving funding from EECBG.

• West Side Real Estate News & Notes