The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) today announced their new Partnership for Advancing an Inclusive Rural Energy Economy. The Partnership will put more money in the pockets of people in rural communities by supporting rural electric cooperatives (co-ops) in developing on-bill financing programs for energy efficiency upgrades, community projects in solar, and clean energy storage.

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The Trump administration's full budget proposal for fiscal year 2018, released on May 23, is little changed from the initial budget outline released on March 16. Despite widespread concern from both political parties in Congress, government advisers, and the private sector, over the highly questionable items included in the "skinny budget," the administration has dug in on dismantling vital environmental, scientific, and social programs. "Although the administration frames their proposals as beneficial to taxpayers and job creation, these cuts would reduce the economy's long-term productivity and harm public health," said EESI Executive Director Carol Werner.

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The White House announced today, March 28, that it is retracting the Clean Power Plan, the Obama Administration's signature climate policy. The Clean Power Plan would have represented the first-ever federal limits on carbon emission from power plants, which represent 40 percent of all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Carol Werner, EESI's Executive Director, gave a statement.

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The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) welcomes the announcement of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP), which was published in today's Federal Register. The now-operational program represents a major milestone for EESI's exhaustive and ongoing efforts in these policy areas, from the inception of RESP and the "Help My House" on-bill financing program in South Carolina to more recent work in Iowa, Michigan and other states.

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The Minneapolis-based McKnight Foundation has awarded a two-year $150,000 grant to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) to support the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy financing programs for households throughout Iowa and Minnesota. EESI will partner with rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities in both states to help them set up on-bill financing programs for their customers. On-bill financing allows households to pay for energy improvements with loans that are paid back through their energy bills.

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EESI welcomes the Obama Administration’s more ambitious Clean Power Plan, whose final version will be unveiled today according to a White House press release. Drafts of the plans called for reducing carbon emissions by at least 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The final plan sets the reductions goal at 32 percent. "This is a very big deal," said Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) Executive Director Carol Werner. "An extra 2 points may not sound like much, but they lead to a 6.7 percent more ambitious target. The Administration is clearly trying to push other countries to be similarly ambitious in their carbon reduction goals ahead of the climate change talks in Paris at the end of this year. That’s excellent news.”

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EESI is proud to announce the expansion of its on-bill financing initiative into a national effort to significantly improve the energy efficiency of homes served by rural electric cooperatives (co-ops) and public utilities, thanks to a grant from The JPB Foundation. Over the past five years, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) has helped to demonstrate and build support for on-bill financing, in which loans for energy efficiency retrofits are repaid through participants’ utility bills. Utilities that adopt this approach will cut energy consumption and emissions while improving home comfort and energy affordability for their customers and members.

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Wednesday, February 05, 2014—The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) applauds the passage Tuesday of the Energy Title and the Rural Energy Savings Program as part of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the Farm Bill). This represents a great victory for the production of clean energy on American farms and for the advancement of a clean energy economy. It is also a major milestone for EESI’s long-standing and ongoing efforts in these policy areas, including its extensive work with the "Help My House" on-bill financing pilot program in South Carolina.

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December 5, 2013--The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) welcomes the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program (EECLP), the final rule of which was published in today's Federal Register. This new program, under the purview of USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS), provides an initial $250 million per year in federal loans and financial assistance to support energy efficiency programs operated by rural electric cooperatives and other rural utilities. RUS anticipates higher funding levels in subsequent years to meet demand.

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Washington, DC, July 2013 - South Carolina's consumer-owned electric cooperatives (co-ops) have released the results of their "Help My House" Loan Pilot Program. The pilot provided loans to co-op member-owners to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes. The loans are being repaid to the co-ops through participants' utility bills, in a process known as "on-bill financing." Billing data on the 125 participating South Carolina homes indicates a 34 percent reduction in energy use (1.35 million kWh) in the year after the work was completed, an average savings of $288 per home after loan payments.

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