Vice President Biden Announces 200,000 Homes Weatherized Under the Recovery Act

Manchester, N.H. – At an event with homeowners and workers who benefited from the program, today in Manchester, New Hampshire, Vice President Joe Biden announced a major Recovery Act milestone – the weatherizing of 200,000 homes under the Recovery Act.  As a result of the Administration’s unprecedented commitment to energy efficiency, more than 200,000 low-income families have been able to save money on their energy bills while saving energy, and thousands of people have been put to work.

“Thanks to the Recovery Act, thousands of construction workers across the country are now on the job making energy-saving home improvements that will save working families hundreds of dollars a year on their utility bills,” said Vice President Biden.  “From replacing windows and doors to adding insulation, these are small changes that are making a big difference for American workers, manufacturer and consumers.  We’ve hit the accelerator on the weatherization program, making over 200,000 homes more energy-efficient already, and are now full speed ahead to meet our original target of weatherizing 600,000 homes nationwide. ”

“The weatherization program under the Recovery Act – one of our signature programs – is successfully delivering energy and cost savings for hundreds of thousands of American families while creating thousands of clean energy jobs in local communities,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. 

Vice President Biden today visited the Manchester, New Hampshire home of the Dumont family to announce the milestone.  The Dumont family is expected to save over $600 a year on their utility bills once their weatherization project is completed and Southern New Hampshire Services, the local organization weatherizing their home, has already hired 7 new full-time employees and an estimated 68 subcontractors as a result of the Recovery Act weatherization funding.

New Hampshire has been one of the nation’s weatherization leaders, ramping up quickly and effectively to reach their goals ahead of schedule.  Through June, New Hampshire has weatherized a total of more than 1,000 homes under the Recovery Act.  New Hampshire was also recently selected to receive an additional $3.1 million to complement and expand their existing weatherization program, drive innovation, and deliver even greater energy bill savings for local families.

New Hampshire’s efforts are contributing to the success of the program nationwide.  After ramping up last year, the Weatherization Assistance Program is now weatherizing homes at its optimal rate – approximately 25,000 homes per month.  With 200,000 homes weatherized nationally, states are more than a third of the way to reaching the President’s goal of weatherizing nearly 600,000 homes under the Recovery Act.  This summer alone, more than 80,000 homes are being weatherized nationwide versus 3,000 last summer