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The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that five more states have reached a significant milestone under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - completing weatherization work for more than 30 percent of the homes they have planned. Now that New Hampshire, New Mexico, Montana, Minnesota, and Utah have each met this target, along with completing a series of monitoring and reporting milestones, the states will have access to the remaining 50 percent of their Recovery Act funding for the program. The Weatherization Assistance Program under the Recovery Act has weatherized more than 108,000 homes nationally, saving American families more than $47 million on their energy bills and according to state reports, supporting more than 10,000 jobs in the first quarter of this year. "The weatherization program under the Recovery Act is creating opportunities nationwide - opportunities for energy savings and job growth. These states are helping to lead the way toward a stronger economic future with a sound foundation in clean energy," said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. The five states highlighted today join seven other states nationally who met this Recovery Act milestone in the last month: Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Vermont, and Washington.

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The U.S. Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program helps low-income households save energy and money by improving their energy efficiency. Local community action agencies or non-profit organizations provide whole-home weatherization services under the program. This includes conducting an energy audit in the home to identify the most cost-effective improvements and implementing solutions that range from installing additional insulation and weatherstripping, sealing windows and doors, caulking cracks in the building, and replacing inefficient heating and cooling systems. According to a recent study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, weatherization services save families an average of more than $400 in energy costs during the first year.

The weatherization program is also creating jobs and providing career training opportunities nationwide. Earlier this month, the Department announced $29 million in funding for 34 weatherization training centers, which will more than triple the number of federally funded training centers and lay the foundation for an energy efficiency workforce for years to come.

More information on the five states that have now weatherized 30 percent of their planned homes under the Recovery Act and met a set of monitoring and compliance milestones is below:

* New Hampshire has weatherized 985 homes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as of May 31, 2010. New Hampshire now has access to the full $23.2 million in funding to weatherize more than 2,600 total homes with Recovery Act funding. According to the state, 110 workers were employed by state and local weatherization providers during the first three months of the year.
* New Mexico has weatherized 881 homes under the Recovery Act as of May 31, 2010. The state now has access to the full $26.8 million in funding to weatherize more than 2,700 homes. According to the state, nearly 50 workers were employed by state and local weatherization providers during the first three months of the year.
* Montana has weatherized 989 homes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as of May 31, 2010. Montana now has access to the full $26.5 million in Recovery Act funding to weatherize more than 2,400 total homes. According to the state, more than 110 workers were employed by state and local weatherization providers during the first three months of the year.
* Minnesota has weatherized 5,268 homes under the Recovery Act as of May 31, 2010. Minnesota now has access to the full $131.9 million to weatherize more than 16,800 homes with their Recovery Act funding. According to the state, more than 450 workers were employed by state and local weatherization providers during the first three months of the year.
* Utah has weatherized 1,402 homes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as of April 30, 2010. Utah now has access to the full $37.8 million to weatherize a total of more than 4,400 homes with Recovery Act funding. According to the state, approximately 80 workers were employed by state and local weatherization providers during the first three months of the year.

For more information, visit the Weatherization Assistance Program.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy