State and Local Climate and Energy Program
Advancing Greenhouse Gas Reductions Through Affordable Housing
James City County, Virginia
Federal Funding: $303,828
Project Timeline: February 2010 – December 2012
Project Summary
Revitalizing Communities by Promoting Energy Efficiency in Residential Households
James City County is currently experiencing a significant downtrend in its residential housing market. To address this issue, the County is launching a program to link urban revitalization efforts with improvements in residential building energy performance. The goal of this program is to target older, low-to-moderate-income households in an area with one of the highest foreclosure rates in the county to achieve three goals:
- retrofit, rehabilitate, and resell foreclosed homes,
- promote energy audits and retrofits in owner-occupied homes, and
- engage in public outreach and education.
First, the County will build on existing efforts to revitalize the neighborhood by financing energy improvements in foreclosed homes that are undergoing rehabilitation. It will also include 12 homes in the EarthCraft Single Family Renovations Program, which is designed to reduce energy use in rehabilitated homes by a minimum of 30%. In support of these efforts, the County is accessing resources through the State and Local Climate and Energy Program, and will collect annual energy usage data from home buyers who participate in the program.
Alongside home rehabilitation, the County will promote energy efficiency retrofits in owner-occupied homes. Home owners can submit applications to obtain energy audits and energy efficiency improvement cost estimates. Up to twelve low- and moderate-income households will receive financing for the recommended retrofits.
Finally, the program's benefits will be broadly communicated to stakeholders through outreach and education initiatives. Rehabilitation and financing initiatives will be publicized by elected officials, County staff, and through broadcasts on the County's public access television station. The County will organize open houses at rehabilitated homes to communicate the energy efficiency benefits of retrofits, and opportunities to access resources. A Web page will highlight the program and other conservation efforts. The page will provide resources such as a simplified explanation of assessing home energy performance and ways to reduce GHG emissions.
The program will achieve direct GHG reductions through energy efficiency improvements, provide support to an economically-stressed area of the county, and improve the housing stock in the targeted area. This affordable housing program is a key component of James City County's ongoing efforts to build a coalition of citizens, businesses, and local government that work together to promote energy efficiency and improve quality of life.
Community Characteristics
| Population: | 50,000 |
|---|---|
| Area: | 144 square miles |
| Government Type: | County |
| Community Type: | Suburban |
| Median Household Income: | $46,000 in targeted area |
Program Results/Estimated Results
| Expected GHG Reductions: | 91 metric tons CO2e annually |
|---|---|
| Expected Electricity Savings: | 10,500 kWh/household annually |
| Expected Homes Rehabilitated: | 12 |
| Expected Energy Audits Conducted: | 60 |
| Expected Homes Retrofitted: | 12 |
