At the literal 11th hour, the Washington State Legislature passed a 2 year capital budget on Saturday June 29th before adjourning their long 2013 session. Included in the capital budget were appropriations to the Department of Commerce to continue its successful energy efficiency grant program for public facilities. The budget specifies a total of $25M in grants, $18M to be available in FY2014 and $7M in FY2015. The grants will continue to be awarded on a competitive basis and are available for local government, state government, and higher education buildings. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction was provided $7M for the biennium for energy efficiency grants to K-12 schools. Of additional note, Section 1074 of the capital budget provided the Department of Commerce with funds for a “Clean Energy and Energy Freedom Program” of which $15M is provided for a revolving loan program for energy efficiency projects. Those loans will be administered by a non-profit lending institution to be selected under a competitive process.
 The Northwest Energy Efficiency Council transitioned to the name Building Potential in 2024. The organization’s legal name remains the same and the Board of Directors and Staff have not changed. |