Summary:
The Green EDGE Fund provided $5,000 to POWER as seed money to establish their offset program. POWER weatherizes and insulates low-income and inefficient homes in Oberlin as a carbon offset program. The amount provided was equivalent to insulating two homes given the insulation estimates provided by POWER.
Background:
There
is growing consensus among climate scientists that the threat of
climate change requires dramatic action to curb our greenhouse gases
immediately. For example, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said, "If there's
no action before 2012, that's too late. What we do in the next two to
three years will determine our future. This is the defining moment."
For these reasons, Oberlin College has joined many other institutions
of higher learning to commit to climate neutrality.
However, the
lowest income bracket in Oberlin does not have the luxury of worrying
about climate change. Many citizens struggle to pay their utility
bills, and rely on external sources such as the Caring Fund to help
them avoid losing utility services. Although they would benefit
financially from insulating their homes, replacing old furnaces, or
replacing inefficient appliances, the upfront cost of such investments
makes these actions impossible. As energy costs rise, it is Oberlin’s
most vulnerable citizens who will be hurt the most. Thus ironically,
those who would benefit most from a maximally efficient home are least
able to create such a living environment.
A financially sustainable program can be
developed by capitalizing on the complementary needs of the low-income
community and those concerned about climate change. Low-income
residents need an influx of capital to allow them to decrease their
utility costs. The decrease in utility usage also results in a
decrease in carbon production, a commodity that is becoming
increasingly valuable. To those concerned about climate change,
preventing carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere is worth money.
Currently, many Oberlin citizens (and for events such as graduation,
Oberlin College) offset their unavoidable carbon emissions by
purchasing “carbon credits.” These investments help to finance
windmills, methane gas-powered electricity plants, and other
carbon-reducing projects around the country. Unfortunately, all of
this money leaves Oberlin. Instead, this initiative would develop a
locally based source of carbon credits; those who wish to offset their
carbon can do so by helping to make low-income housing in Oberlin more
energy efficient. In doing so, they not only help reduce the emission
of carbon; they also improve the lives of Oberlin’s most vulnerable
citizens and the health of our local economy.
Before a local
carbon offset program can be developed, two key pieces of groundwork
must be laid. First, we must develop an infrastructure for identifying
high-need citizens and delivering efficiency services to them. Second,
we need to measure the carbon eliminated by the efficiency services, to
develop a viable pricing structure for carbon credits. To lay this
groundwork, we are requesting funds to weatherize 10 low-income homes
in Oberlin.
The Board of Trustees
of POWER will oversee the pilot program, and ultimately be responsible
for the receipt and disbursement of funds (with Zion Community
Development Corporation serving as fiscal agent). The Board will have
the responsibility of hiring and evaluating staff, selecting and hiring
contractors, and guiding the program to fulfill the mission of POWER. At the start of the project, the Board will hire a
paid intern to serve as the administrator of the program. This person
will work closely with Doug McMillan to schedule inspections, keep
track of utility data, and coordinate between homeowners and the
contractor. A Selection Committee of community members who come from
or work with the low income community will review and prioritize all
applications, and choose the 10 homes to be weatherized this year.
Participants will be prioritized based on need, factoring in financial
status, the number of children and seniors living in the home, and the
current efficiency of the home. Efficiency of the home will be
determined through utility bills and evaluation with an infrared camera
(which makes visible the places where heat leaves the home).
Participants
in the POWER pilot project will be solicited through existing
organizations and networks (churches, Zion Community Development
Corporation, Oberlin Community Services). These organizations will be
asked to identify homeowners in Oberlin with low incomes and high need
for help with their home.
In consultation with Kathy Burns of
Oberlin Community Services, interested citizens will complete a brief
application form. Kathy Burns is uniquely positioned in
the community to help applicants because she already performs this role
for other utility aid programs. The application will mainly serve to
verify that the homeowner qualifies for the program, and to indicate
the level of need. The Selection Committee will finalize a list of 10
homes to be weatherized and insulated (with a “waiting list” of any
additional homes, should any of the 10 homes prove to have structural
problems that prevent their homes from being weatherized).
The
project administrator will schedule inspections of these homes using
the heat-loss inspection program already available through OMLPS. The
initial inspection will serve several purposes. First, the inspector
will ascertain that the home can in fact be insulated and weatherized
without creating a safety hazard e.g. (houses with knob and tube wiring
should not have cellulose insulation blown in, nor should houses with
leaking roofs). Second, the inspector will identify the scope of work
that needs to be accomplished. Finally, the inspector will discuss the
findings and possible solutions with the homeowner, educating them
about their options and making them active participants in the process.
A
licensed and insured professional (selected by the Board of Trustees)
will schedule the work day(s) directly with each customer. Once the
work has been completed, a second heat loss inspection will be
performed. The purpose of the second inspection is two-fold: to
ensure that the contracted work was completed satisfactorily, and to
address any questions or issues the homeowner may have. Once the
inspector determines that the work has been completed to his/her and
the homeowner’s satisfaction, the fiscal agent will be directed to pay
the weatherization professional in full.
A thorough assessment
of each home will occur after the work has been completed. First, gas
and electric bills will be tracked for a full calendar year, and
compared to bills from the previous year, to quantify the monetary and
fuel savings. From this information, carbon savings will also be
calculated. Second, homeowners will be surveyed immediately after the
completion of work, and 6 months later, to assess their satisfaction
with the process and the work done on their home.
Cost-Benefit Estimation:
The total cost of this pilot project is $25,500 (note the Green EDGE
Fund provided only $5,000, with the difference being covered by external sources). Costs incurred by this project include: contracted
services (insulation and weatherization of homes); inspections;
evaluation (measurement of energy savings, calculation of carbon
savings, assessment of resident satisfaction, and collection of
feedback); overhead costs (paid to fiscal agent and OCS); and
administrative and office expenses. Note that inspections will be
completed by OMLPS staff as part of their regular duties, and evaluation
services will be donated by Oberlin College faculty and students. Because this project is funded as a sustainability grant, project savings will be accrued by households receiving from POWER Fund grants, and not recovered by the Green EDGE Fund.
Additional Benefits:
This
project has the potential to benefit Oberlin College in several ways.
First, it is directly in line with Oberlin College’s commitment to
climate neutrality and to the city of Oberlin. Carbon offsetting will
necessarily be an essential part of the college’s long-term efforts to
become carbon neutral, as certain sources of carbon (ie travel) cannot
be eliminated completely. The POWER Fund provides the college a direct
way to offset carbon and contribute to the community. This will
undoubtedly have positive effects on town-gown relationships, as well
as make the city of Oberlin an economically healthier (and therefore
more attractive) place to live. Additionally, the POWER Fund has great
potential for providing Oberlin College students with hands-on learning
activities that enhance classroom instruction. In the pilot phase,
students will be involved in calculating the carbon saving and
evaluating the success of the program. We anticipate that student
involvement will be a regular component of the program. In sum, the
POWER Fund offsets carbon, promotes economic justice, builds positive
relationships within the community, creates a more attractive
residential environment for faculty and staff, and provides meaningful
educational experiences to Oberlin students.
Project
press:
The Morning Journal profiles the POWER Fund, which is
partly funded by EDGE (June 1, 2009)
