NOAH chosen to take part in Renew Boston initiative

East Boston’s Neighborhood of Affordable Housing is one of 13 community-based organizations in the city that will take part Boston’s Renew Boston initiative.

Mayor Thomas Menino announced this week that NOAH and 12 others will launch a community-based marketing and outreach strategy in order to connect as many as 3,000 Boston households with no-cost weatherization services.

With NSTAR and National Grid as partners, Renew Boston is the nation’s first partnership between municipal government and investor-owned utilities for co-delivery of energy efficiency home improvements.

The program uses $1.8 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s (ARRA) Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) to leverage rebates available under existing energy efficiency programs administered by NSTAR and National Grid or Boston residents within 60-120 percent of the state median income.

The no-cost energy efficiency improvements are provided by Mass Energy Consumers Alliance and Next Step Living, a Boston-based energy services company.

Menino said he expects Renew Boston to complete more than $11.9 million in energy efficiency improvements throughout Eastie and the city, save Boston residents over $3.4 million in annual energy costs, and also to create 58 local green jobs.

To make residents aware of Renew Boston, the Mayor is relying on NOAH and other trusted community-based organizations to engage residents in ways that build on work they already perform in the areas of health, wellness, and community and workforce development.

NOAH will ensure that Renew Boston’s marketing and outreach work reaches residents who have traditionally not accessed weatherization programs, particularly moderate income Bostonians and residents for whom English is a second language.

The Mayor’s goal is for the program to provide as many as 3,000 Boston households with no-cost air sealing and insulation services that can lead to energy use reductions of 15 percent or more, annually.

“With this funding, Renew Boston continues to create local green jobs,” said Menino.  “The work that these community organizations will perform will help thousands of Bostonians to save energy and money.”

Menino said the City of Boston needs to help Bostonians with their energy needs, through programs like Food and Fuel campaign and Boston Buying Power, the City’s bulk power purchasing program for small businesses.

“In Boston, where space heating is the largest share of energy bills, and older building stock accounts for nearly 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, Renew Boston will not only help residents with their fuel bills, but will help meet the City’s climate change goals, “ said Jim Hunt, the City’s Chief of Environmental and Energy Services,

Menino also recently announced Green Building 101, a low-cost, all-day workshop, offering Bostonians an insider’s knowledge into the growing field of green jobs in Boston.

The event is one in a series of events the Mayor’s Office of Jobs and Community Services will be convening to help position residents to secure green economy jobs, created in part by the demand for Renew Boston’s services.

The December 10 event is a project of the Massachusetts State Energy Sector Partnership, funded by a $6 million U.S. Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration grant, and organized by a partnership which includes the Mayor’s Office of Jobs and Community Services; Renew Boston; SkillWorks; and The Green Roundtable. Information on Green Building 101 is available at www.nexusboston.org/events, or by contacting Matt Bruce at (617) 918-5225.

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