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The Greener Homes Program, with $8M in combined funding from the Public Utilities Commission, the Office of Energy and Planning, and New Hampshire Housing, has now shifted from the pilot phase to full program implementation. Though some funding remains available for selected Energy Innovations projects, the main thrust of the Greener Homes Program continues to be the Energy Retrofit component focused on existing, rent-restricted multi-family rental housing. Over the next two years the program will audit and retrofit at least 785 units around the state, and will perform post-rehab testing to confirm and quantify the energy saved. Informed by an Advisory Committee representing a broad range of funders, property owners, and housing professionals, New Hampshire Housing has hired TRC Energy Services to manage the day-to-day activities of the GHP and to assist in reporting program results to the state and federal governments.
Owners of projects selected for the Greener Homes Program will receive zero-percent, deferred-payment loans from New Hampshire Housing for their audits and energy retrofits, and these loans will be due and payable only in the event that the project is ever sold or refinanced. Work performed under the program will be governed by a standard two-party contract between the owner and a general contractor selected by competitive bidding. All Greener Homes Program projects must agree to a minimum of 20 years of continued affordability after completion of the energy retrofit. The selection process starts with a rigorous energy audit, and is intended to favor the oldest, least energy-efficient multi-family projects in the state, especially those that require major refinancing in addition to an energy upgrade.
View recent newsletter article about Greener Homes
Energy Retrofit
Greener Homes is a comprehensive Program that addresses the needs of the multi-family housing sector by working with building owners and their representatives to improve the energy efficiency of existing rent restricted multi-family buildings. New Hampshire Housing has contracted with TRC Energy Services, Portsmouth, NH to act as the Program Implementer to manage the program.
This program will rely on a network of energy efficiency professionals (Performance Partners) who have demonstrated their experience and expertise in multi-family energy efficiency projects. The Greener Homes Program will work to achieve the following goals:
- Achieve significant energy savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions for affordable multi-family housing projects.
- Foster the retrofit of energy efficient equipment and weatherization improvements through the use of energy audits performed by a qualified third-party energy consultant to establish a baseline and provide cost-effective recommendations for equipment and building envelope upgrades.
- Facilitate access to capital for comprehensive energy and energy-related improvements.
The Program requires that an existing multi-family facility's current energy performance is benchmarked against a set of similar buildings. This benchmarking will be used to define the energy performance target the building owner will be expected to achieve. An Energy Reduction Plan must be developed to demonstrate the potential for achievement of the energy performance target.
Performance Partners will agree to play an active role in the program by providing high quality building performance services to building owners in the program in compliance with the program's terms and conditions. The specific types of services required of a Performance Partner, along with the corresponding terms, conditions and incentives, are detailed in the Partner Agreement, the attachments to this Agreement (see links below), and in the Greener Homes Program Guidelines which will be distributed at a mandatory Performance Partner orientation.
Questions regarding the role of Performance Partners and the partner agreement may be directed to Mike McQueeney of TRC Energy Services at 603.766.1913 or via e-mail at MMcQueeney@trcsolutions.com.
Performance Partner company introductions and contact information
"Performance Partner" Partnership Agreement
Partnership Agreement - Project Case Study Template
Partnership Agreement - Submittal Checklist
Partnership Agreement - Attachment A
Where can I get more information?
Join our conference call on, Tuesday June 21 2011 at 1:00am that will introduce the program to potential Partners and provide a Q&A session.
** If you wish to become a Partner, we recommend attending the conference call. **
To attend, RSVP to mmcqueeney@trcsolutions.com with your contact information (including your name, company, phone number, and current email address) to receive further instructions. Feel free to include specific questions in your RSVP to make sure that we cover your questions.
