TOLEDO, Ohio, April 21, 2010 - The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority will receive a $15 million Department of Energy grant today from Vice President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C. The Vice President will announce the selection of 25 communities for up to $452 million in Recovery Act funding to “ramp-up” energy efficiency building retrofits. The only other community in Ohio to receive this grant is Cincinnati. Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority CEO, Paul Toth and City of Toledo Mayor Michael P. Bell are in Washington D.C. today to accept this grant.

Under the Department of Energy’s Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative, communities, governments and non-profit organizations will work together on pioneering and innovative programs for concentrated and broad-based retrofits of neighborhoods and towns – and eventually entire states.  These partnerships will support large-scale retrofits and make energy efficiency accessible to hundreds of thousands of homeowners and businesses.

The grant allows the Port Authority to establish an Advanced Energy Utility (AEU) within the City of Toledo to implement the wide-scale use of energy efficiency and alternative energy practices and solutions in our residential, commercial, governmental and industrial facilities within our communities.

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority AEU will utilize financing through the Northwest Ohio Bond Fund as well as other financing mechanisms to effect the investment of over $300 million in energy efficiency and alternative energy improvements for residential, commercial, industrial and government buildings located in our region over a three year period. This program will create jobs from all sectors of the workforce including services such as energy audits, engineering design and construction and will include the retraining of our workforce for new green energy installations.

The AEU will begin within the City of Toledo and will be expanded to other cities and townships within Lucas County. Ultimately the program will be expanded to all 28 counties that are part of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority’s financing jurisdiction in Northwest Ohio.

“The AEU will fundamentally and permanently transform energy use and the delivery of energy conservation retrofitting and alternative energy technology in Northwest Ohio,” says Paul Toth, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority CEO. “We are the first agency to develop a financially sustainable method of implementing green energy and we plan to become the model for our nation. We are tremendously grateful to the Department of Energy and grateful as well for the widespread support this grant application received. The Port Authority has committed to creating jobs for our community and this grant award allows us to do just that.”

The main focus of the Port Authority’s AEU is enabling the implementation of energy efficiency and alternative energy solutions to reduce energy costs for homeowners and businesses. For example, home or business owners will utilize the program to obtain an energy audit that will determine how best to execute sustainable energy improvements for cost savings. The implementation of these efficiencies, such as energy efficient windows, insulation, efficient lighting upgrades, geo-thermal heating/cooling systems or HVAC control systems will be financed through the AEU and allow for these improvements to be installed with the resulting energy savings being used to pay for the improvements.

The Port Authority will add a portion of the $15 million to the program reserve of the Northwest Ohio Bond Fund dedicated to supporting the AEU Program. These funds will immediately be leveraged to issue up to $50 million in debt within the three-year project timeline. These funds will be leveraged several times over the next decade to create a long-term sustainable financing mechanism for energy efficiency and alternative energy installations throughout the region.

In addition to transforming how our region consumes energy, the AEU will create a program that is financially sustainable far beyond the grant period by harnessing the enormous financial power of area energy expenditures.  The AEU will also maximize the use of local and regional renewable energy and conservation system providers to strengthen the local alternative energy/energy service economy and develop alternative energy businesses and long-term jobs and careers.

“We are incredibly pleased that the Department of Energy embraces our vision of transforming the way our community uses energy - this transformation will have a remarkable and lasting impact on the City of Toledo, our citizens and regional job creation. By partnering with the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, we are able to leverage this investment several times over.” says Michael P. Bell, Mayor of the City of Toledo.

The Retrofit Ramp-Up projects, which are part of the overall $80 billion Recovery Act investment in clean energy and energy-efficiency, complement the Obama Administration’s ‘Recovery through Retrofit’ initiative, which lays the groundwork for a self-sustaining and robust home energy efficiency industry. The awards are the competitive portion of DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, which was funded for the first time under the Recovery Act to help state, local, and tribal communities make strategic investments in improving energy efficiency, reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions. 

Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Advanced Energy Utility Program Objectives:

·Partner with multiple local jurisdictions, planning agencies, local energy providers, community support groups, business and industrial groups, unions and trade associations, school districts and other support agencies.

·Prioritize energy efficiency and energy conservation as a prerequisite before investments are made in renewable energy; while integrating cost-effective, advanced renewable energy strategies.

·Deliver significant, verified energy savings from a variety of projects, with a particular emphasis on efficiency improvements in residential, commercial, industrial and public buildings; with high-quality retrofits that result in significant efficiency improvements to a large fraction of buildings within targeted neighborhoods, industrial corridors and commercial areas; and expand on and connect these areas in future years.

·Achieve measurable stretch goals, broad market participation and greater efficiency savings from building retrofits that can serve as pilot building retrofit programs demonstrating the benefits of comprehensive community-scale energy-efficiency approaches and economy of scale, that are broadly replicable and scalable, can make an impact regionally or nationally, and serve as examples to be replicated across the country.

·Maximize the creation/retention of jobs in northwest Ohio and the United States; and provide career paths and training for entry or advanced energy-related jobs.

Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority 28 County Service Area

Allen, Ashland, Auglaize, Crawford, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Holmes, Huron, Jackson , Marion, Mercer, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Tuscarawas , Van Wert, Wayne, Williams, Wood and Wyandot

 It is the mission of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority to continuously leverage our strategic geographic position, resources and economic development proficiency to provide increased business opportunities—built upon and around our innovative transportation and logistics expertise—while promoting our community and region within the global marketplace. We will accomplish this through unmatched speed and efficiency of service, collaborative and strategic partnerships, community stewardship and the continued generation and execution of new ideas and innovations.