Maryland Home Energy Loan Program Commits First $100,000 for Homeowners' Efficiency Improvements

Two months after its introduction, the Maryland Home Energy Loan Program (MHELP), which enables Marylander homeowners to access unsecured, low-cost, funds for efficiency upgrades, has cleared its first $100,000 in loan commitments.

“These measures not only help save on energy costs but could also make for a more comfortable home during heating and cooling seasons.”

“Ultimately, the goal is to help consumers reduce the cost of their power bills. We understand that most families don’t have extra money to make an investment in home improvements that an energy auditor might recommend, but might be inclined to implement the recommendations if the money was available. This program allows a consumer to borrow money for efficiency improvements at a very attractive rate without racking up high interest credit card debt or tying up the equity in their home,” said I. Katherine Magruder, Executive Director of the Maryland Clean Energy Center, which administers the MHELP program with funds from the Maryland Energy Administration and the federal 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

MHELP is designed to help achieve Governor O'Malley's four-pronged energy strategy that includes reducing per capital peak demand for energy 15% by 2015 (from a 2007 baseline). Efficiency improvements also reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions, help create green jobs by boosting demand for more certified energy auditors and contractors and, where appropriate, identifies where renewable energy systems that can supplant homeowners' need for electricity supplied by the power grid.

Homeowners interested in exploring a loan from MHELP need to complete a home energy audit by a certified auditor if they haven't done so within the past six months. The resulting assessment is likely to recommend several ways a home can save energy. Thus far, the Maryland Clean Energy Center has committed about $120,000 for loans to homeowners throughout the state.

As expected, most home improvement applications since the MHELP program launched in late December encompass upgrading insulation, plugging air leaks, sealing ducts and replacing furnaces, heat pumps and/or air conditioners that are at least 10 years old. “These measures not only help save on energy costs but could also make for a more comfortable home during heating and cooling seasons,” Magruder said.

With audit recommendations in hand, Marylanders can go to http://mcecloans.org/ to apply. These loans do not need to be secured by the owner's home or other large asset. The clean energy loan amounts are capped at $20,000. The rate is 6.99%. Most unsecured loans at commercial banks carry interest rates at twice that rate. Some interest rates are rising as the economic recovery picks up momentum.

The approval process typically takes a few days. Improvements need to be performed by contractors with a Maryland Home Improvement Certification. Lists of both qualifying auditors and contractors are available at http://www.mdhomeperformance.org/findacontractor.php.

Homeowners with proof of a qualifying audit within the past six months can proceed immediately to the application.

To see entire piece go to Businesswire

Governor O’Malley Appoints Leading Educator, Solar Innovator to Board of Maryland Clean Energy Center

Gov. Martin O’Malley

Gov. Martin O’Malley has appointed a prominent academic researcher and a solar industry finance expert to fill two vacancies on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Clean Energy Center.

Eric Wachsman, PhD, Director of the University of Maryland’s Energy Research Center, will serve through June 2015.

 

George Ashton, co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer of Sol Systems, Inc., a national leader in aggregating solar renewable energy credits, is fulfilling a term that runs through September 2012.



Eric Wachsman, PhD



Wachsman and Ashton join existing members of the Center’s Board of Directors who oversee its mission of helping consumers, supporting businesses and advising lawmakers in Maryland as the state scales up its clean energy industries and energy efficiency initiatives. Other Board members include Jeremy Butz, Carol Collins, Ken Connolly, Jeff Eckel – who serves as the current Board Chairman – and Malcolm Woolf, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration.

“I am so proud to announce the appointment of two very talented individuals to the Board of the Maryland Clean Energy Center,” said Governor O’Malley. “As Maryland continues to emerge as a national leader in clean energy, their leadership will help us move toward a better and more sustainable future for our children. I’d like to thank them for their willingness to step up and serve the people of our State as we work to find innovative ways to reach our clean energy goals in the toughest of times.”

I. Katherine Magruder

“We are privileged to have two such high-caliber and forceful clean energy advocates join us as we move into our second year of operation,” said I. Katherine Magruder, Executive Director of the Maryland Clean Energy Center. “They will help facilitate the adoption and generation of clean energy along with the new jobs, consumer savings and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that come with it.”

George Ashton

In addition to his leadership of UM Energy Research Center, Wachsman holds the William L. Crentz Centennial Chair in Energy Research at the University of Maryland, College Park. Previously, Wachsman was Director of the Florida Institute for Sustainable Energy and a professor of materials science and engineer at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He has authored dozens of research papers since beginning his career as an engineer for chip-maker Intel. He earned his PhD and Masters of Science from Stanford University. Wachsman is filling out the remainder of the Board term served by Dan Goodman.

Ashton has been instrumental in growing Sol Systems into one of the country’s leading aggregators of solar renewable energy credits, or SRECs. Solar system owners earn 1 SREC for every 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity their systems generate each year. Before Sol Systems, Ashton was a Senior Account Executive at Fannie Mae, a government-sponsored enterprise chartered by Congress chartered to provide liquidity and stability to the U.S. housing and mortgage markets. Ashton earned his MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University Maryland in College Park.

"make green a reality"  visit http://www.thesolarandwindexpo.com/