Friday, June 4, 2010, 2:18pm PDT | Modified: June 4, 2010, 2:36 PM

Oregon gets $1 million for green jobs training

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An Oregon nonprofit focused on better energy efficiency for low-income households received $1 million in stimulus funding to set up up a new training center for energy retrofitting and weatherization service jobs.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced Friday that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds from the U.S. Department of Energy will go to the Oregon Energy Coordinators Association for a new training center.

Earlier this year, the Low-Income Weatherization Assistance program, run by Oregon Housing and Community Services, received $38.5 million in stimulus funding, increasing the demand for contractors to perform weatherization services.

"The opportunity to further develop and train Oregon’s work force to meet the demands of a growing field is an exciting opportunity," said Rick Crager, deputy director of Oregon Housing and Community Services in a press release. "We look forward to our continued partnership with (the U.S. Department of Energy) and our state’s community action agencies to deliver our low-income weatherization program and build the capacity in Oregon to meet energy retrofit needs of the future."

According to OHCS, the Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Program has already weatherized 1,167 homes across the state and employed 561 workers.