Earth Advantage to lead DOE-funded pilot
By Christina Williams, Sustainable Business Oregon
Sustainable Business Oregon
Earth Advantage Institute announced Friday it will receive $1.4 million of an $11 million grant that will fund an energy efficiency retrofit pilot program for homeowners across four states.
The Portland-based nonprofit will provide the technology infrastructure to manage the program and provide educational resources to the participating markets.
Earth Advantage works to bring green construction practices to the market.
The project will be directed by the National Association of State Energy Officials. The states of Massachusetts, Virginia, Alabama and Washington are participating in the grant-funded pilot program.
Bill Nesmith, Western regional coordinator for the association of energy officials, said Oregon officials considered participating in the application for the program, but ultimately decided against it.
The award is a boost for Earth Advantage, which will deploy Energy Performance Score via the program. Earth Advantage officials are actively lobbying the U.S. Department of Energy to consider adopting the system, which the group markets as a "miles-per-gallon" sticker for your house, as a national standard.
In addition, Earth Advantage spokesman Tom Bruenig said the $1.4 million contract will be a "significant proportion" of the nonprofit's revenue.
In 2008, Earth Advantage had revenue of $2.8 million, up from $1.9 million the year before, according to its most recent tax filing.
David Heslam, Energy Performance Score program manager for Earth Advantage, said part of the nonprofit's job will be to build a Web-based platform to support the program, connecting homeowners with contractors and financing options.
"Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for the homeowner to move from getting the energy audit to actually getting the improvements done," Heslam said.
In addition, Earth Advantage will provide subsidized educational programs for real estate professionals and property appraisers in the participating real estate markets.
Earth Advantage has 50 employees.
christinawilliams@bizjournals.com | 503.219.3438
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