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In 2010, seven cities in King County, Washington -- known as the C-7 New Energy Partnership -- joined forces with local utility Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and energy management software company OPOWER to help nearly 100,000 residents reduce their home energy consumption. The program, which was made possible in part by Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funding from the Recovery Act , has become an easy and informative way for residents to understand their energy consumption, compare their household use against neighbors, and identify effective options to reduce their costs. 

As one of the windiest states in the country, Kansas is a great place to harness wind and solar power. And through the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program, the Resourceful Kansas team is teaching the rest of the state about all the technologies that are out there.

Houston-based Texas Medical Center recently celebrated the completion of an energy-efficient, 48 megawatt combined heat and power system. The Medical Center projects that new system, funded in part by a $10 million Recovery Act grant, will help save about $200 million in energy costs over the next 15 years — a big number, even by Texas standards.

In order to find the ways that we can best work with small businesses here at the Energy Department, we turned to the experts – the small business owners themselves -- and held discussions on ways small businesses could increase their access to the Energy Department

The Duckwater Shoshone Tribe and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians are using their grant funds to make some much needed retrofits and upgrades.

King County uses $6.1 million to make investments that dramatically reduce energy waste, improve the quality of life for the residents of an area senior housing community, and lead regional efforts to install electric vehicle charging stations.

Check out this video where Mayor Chris Coleman explains how St. Paul is using grant money to create jobs while cutting waste and saving energy.

Thanks to a $1.2 million grant from the Department’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, the city of Boise, Idaho, will replace and install 1,450 LED streetlights by the end of this month. The project is projected to save $1.2 million over the next 15 years.

Martha Stewart and the Better Buildings program have a lot in common -- both understand that a small change can make a huge difference and save you money!