$20,000 matching grant opportunity for reducing energy usage. Webinar this Thursday

Webinar  Partnering with Local Businesses to Reduce Energy Usage When: Thursday, April 7 at 2 p.m. Eastern (1 pm Central / Noon Mountain / 11 am Pacific)  Event Summary: Despite a strong economic case for making basic energy efficiency improvements, many small business owners do not utilize the many options available to finance efficiency retrofits at their facilities. Local governments can help overcome these barriers by partnering with community businesses to reduce their energy consumption while also minimizing operating costs. By providing low-cost financing, educating businesses on their energy usage, or uniting small businesses to realize greater aggregate savings, localities can make local businesses more sustainable and economically competitive. On Thursday’s call we’ll be joined by Dave Konkle, the Energy Programs Director at the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and former Energy Coordinator for the City of Ann Arbor, MI.  Mr. Konkle will discuss how Ann Arbor is working with downtown businesses to conduct energy efficiency audits and retrofit commercial buildings.  The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority provides a free “Technical Energy Analysis” for all downtown businesses and a 50% matching grant (up to $20,000) for businesses that implement energy saving recommendations.  Over 100 businesses are currently participating. REGISTER TODAY If you are already registered for the Climate Communities weekly teleconference series, you do not need to register again. (Climate Communities hosts weekly teleconferences on best practices and other key energy issues of importance to local governments. There is no charge to attend these weekly calls.)

Upcoming Events Local Government Clean Energy Leadership Summit June 15-17, 2011, Washington, DC Participate in the premier energy efficiency and renewable energy conference for the local government sector, share best practices with colleagues and federal officials and urge the Obama Administration and Congress to make further clean energy investments in local governments. This conference will be a key opportunity to demonstrate to federal policymakers the success of the EECBG program and other investments in local clean energy projects. April 15 - Early Bird Deadline. Register at www.localenergysummit.org   About Energy Block Grants Work! In July, local government and private sector officials from across America  launched the Energy Block Grants Work! campaign in Washington, DC with meetings with senior officials in the White House, Department of Energy, and the Congress. Organized by Climate Communities, the Energy Block Grants Work! campaign is rallying cities and counties across America to urge President Obama to include full funding for the EECBG program in his budget for next year. The campaign is managed by Climate Communities, a national coalition of cities and counties that is educating federal policymakers about the essential role of local governments in implementing clean energy projects and promoting a strong local-federal partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Visit: www.energyblockgrants.org where you can:  download an advocacy toolkit join the mail list share your local EECBG story donate to support the effort Thank you for your consideration, and please forward this email to other community leaders who may be able to help.