The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 provided Department of Energy funding through the Arkansas Energy Office to the William J. Clinton Foundation Climate Initiative in Arkansas for the establishment of the State’s first employer-assisted energy benefit program. The Home Energy Affordability Loan (HEAL) pilot program targets energy affordability, job creation and greenhouse gas reductions by helping participating businesses reduce their utility expenditures and assisting their employees to perform similar energy saving measures in their homes.
The HEAL pilot program does this by providing four Arkansas businesses (one in each Congressional District) with facility audits and zero interest retrofit financing of energy efficiency improvements for their facilities. Following commitment of these commercial retrofit measures, HEAL will provide home audit and retrofit opportunities for up to 100 employees of each participating business. The businesses agree to use a portion of their facility energy savings to develop a zero interest employee loan fund to finance the identified residential improvements for their employees.
This energy efficiency pilot program is designed to:
- Increase the competitiveness of Arkansas business by lowering facility energy costs;
- Increase access to, and deployment of, home energy efficiency retrofits thereby reducing utility burden and increasing disposable income for working families;
- Demonstrate a new benefit program for businesses that is particularly well-suited for low to moderate income working families;
- Include a simple retrofit financing tool in the form of an employee loan fund that can be repaid through payroll deductions.
The Clinton Climate Initiative in Arkansas (CCI AR) is developing and administering all aspects of the pilot program, including candidate selection in each of the four Congressional Districts.
Eligible Businesses
Individual commercial or industrial businesses with facilities located in Congressional Districts 1, 3, or 4 (Download Arkansas Congressional District Map) can apply to CCI AR for participation in the HEAL pilot program. Selections will be based on meeting required eligibility criteria as well as the scores attained in the candidate scoring matrix. Each Congressional District will be scored and evaluated separately, with only one candidate selected in each Congressional District.
Minimum eligibility criteria include, but are not limited to:
- Arkansas facility with 150 or more employees
- Minimum of 100 employees with low to moderate household incomes (based on 200% of Federal Poverty Level)
- D&B Commercial Credit Score of 375 or more
- Potential energy savings through Energy Efficient Measures exceeding $50,000 per year
- National Environmental Act (NEPA) Compliant Facility
- Commitment of Human Resources personnel to the project
Eligible commercial or industrial businesses in Congressional Districts 1, 3, or 4 should review the following documents and submit two (2) copies of the completed Candidate Application Packet by 2PM CDT on May 15, 2010.
- Benefits of Participation
- What to Expect
- How to Apply and Candidate Scoring Matrix
For additional information or to request a Candidate Application Packet, please contact us.
