Design Snapshot — Metro Philadelphia’s Energy Efficiency Strategy: Promoting Regionalism to Advance Recovery
By: Mark Muro and Sarah Rahman
Bringing together the five counties of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the nonprofit Metropolitan Caucus, a
new regional consortium there, is promoting a joint regional application for ARRA’s competitive Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant dollars. Its four-part proposal, which will add and refine
partners and programs over time, draws on the collaboration of multiple regional institutions to establish
and operate a loan fund for green building and retrofits; support clean energy technology deployment;
assist local governments with energy efficiency plans; and measure the energy performance of public
facilities.
The newly created Metropolitan Caucus of
southeastern Pennsylvania is leading the bold
new regional energy efficiency strategy targeting
for the competitive Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) in the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA). Unprecedented for the region, the
Metropolitan Caucus has brought together five
area counties—Bucks, Chester, Delaware,
Montgomery, and Philadelphia—to make the
most of the stimulus opportunity by coordinating
their plans, goals, and assets to achieve
maximum regional benefit. Their proposed
joint EECBG competitive application for roughly
$35 million calls for financing construction and
retrofits, supporting clean energy companies,
measuring building energy performance, and
assisting local governments in implementing
various sustainability solutions. To carry out
each of these activities, the caucus intends to
engage in broad cross-sector collaboration to
leverage the strengths and unique assets of
regional educational institutions, key nonprofits,
and planning agencies.