Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 10:27am PDT | Modified: April 21, 2010, 3:48 PM

Oregon gets $20M for efficiency program

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The Clean Energy Works Program being tested in Portland received a $20 million federal grant on Wednesday to expand the program statewide.

The award amount is considerably less than the $75 million Oregon officials applied for in December.

Portland officials will hold a press conference Thursday to discuss details of the program.

The grant is part of a $452 million chunk of federal stimulus funding doled out to 25 communities around the country under what’s being called the Department of Energy’s Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative.

Collectively, the federal government estimates that $100 million in energy savings will be achieved through the program. It’s estimated it will create 30,000 jobs over the next three years.

The grants ranged in amount from $5 million to $40 million. Seattle received $20 million for a weatherization program.

In Portland, the Clean Energy Works program launched last year with a 500-home project to help homeowners with energy efficiency upgrades such as better insulation by providing low-cost financing options and working with Energy Trust of Oregon to develop a dedicated team of contractors to do the work.

The $20 million grant for Clean Energy Works will expand the program statewide with the help of a revolving loan fund and other financing options.

“With the federal government as a partner, Oregon will now be able to put people back to work making homes, schools and businesses across the state more efficient while saving taxpayers more of their hard-earned money,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.