Green Homes Program Launches to Help Create Energy-Efficient Households

Frederick County Receives EPA Grant to Fund Programs

FREDERICK, Md. - Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater announced the launch of a new initiative to assist residents who want to lower home energy costs and live more sustainably. The new Green Homes Program, managed by the Division of Energy and Environment, is open to all county residents. The project is funded by a nearly $1 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program.

"These initiatives will contribute to making Frederick County a more energy-efficient, more resilient, and more inclusive community, by assuring that our work to reduce energy use and address climate change includes everyone," County Executive Fitzwater said. "By helping our ALICE households reduce their energy use, we not only help reduce green house gases, but we help families stretch their hard-earned dollars."

"I am thrilled that our work has garnered the support of the EPA and that we are able to work with amazing community partners to give voice to and affect positive change for our community," said Tiara Lester, Sustainability Program Administrator in the Division of Energy and Environment. "Sustainability is for everyone, and together we can make that happen."

The Green Homes Program has three main components:

• The Green Compass program provides Community Navigators to assist residents in finding, understanding, and benefitting from local, state, and federal programs and incentives that can help improve their home environment, lower energy costs, and live sustainably.
• The Green Homes Challenge is a guide to sustainable living that provides participants with incentives and defined actions to support saving energy, making environmentally friendly choices, and using renewable energy.
• The goal of our Green Partnerships is to ensure that all Frederick County residents can benefit from sustainable living. By working with local organizations and community stakeholders, we make "going green" more possible for underserved and overburdened communities.

Community partners include Mobilize Frederick, Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County, and the Asian American Center of Frederick. These organizations will help to build resilience, educate about air quality and climate, and engage community members. To learn more, visit FrederickCountyMD.gov/GreenHomes.

Frederick County was one of 88 Environmental Justice grants awarded nationally, and one of only four awarded in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia region.

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Photo caption: Representatives from Habitat for Humanity, the Asian American Center of Frederick, and Mobilize Frederick join Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater and staff from the Division of Energy and Environment to announce the federal grant they received to launch the Green Homes Program.

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