The federal government is investing unprecedented funding for clean energy and climate action. We want to ensure that these new funds reach historically underserved communities so that everyone can benefit from this funding.
Historically underserved populations include BIPOC communities, households where English is not the first language, the elderly, populations with disabilities, and lower-income households.
Dane County is committed to an equitable clean energy future. We want to ensure that all members of our community see the benefits of a clean energy economy. Benefits include cleaner air in neighborhoods, family-sustaining clean energy careers, and lower energy costs and increased comfort and safety too.
We created the Home Energy Guide program to empower underserved communities and households to access energy efficiency and electrification opportunities that will make homes more affordable, more comfortable and safer. Our focus is on increasing benefits to the segments of our community who may not have had opportunities to participate in programs historically.
To ensure federal funds benefit underserved populations in Dane County, we are partnering with community-based organizations, entities that understand their constituent communities.
We will help these community-based organizations understand the opportunities and then the organizations will bring those opportunities to the households in their communities.
We expect our community-based partners lead outreach and engagement and to provide one-on-one support to help households participate in programs that will cut their energy bills, make their homes more comfortable and safer.
We will select community-based partners soon. Once those partnerships are in place we will share more about how each community-based partner plans to engage households.
As this progr
am evolves we will learn more about the barriers to program participation. We aim to work collaboratively with our community partners to address the barriers identified.
This partnership also lets us explore strategies for increasing community access to clean energy careers.
And, although this is a two-year initiative, we are hopeful that the relationships we build and lessons we learn can continue well past initial efforts.
