Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine today announced the allocation of $40 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to help implement the Virginia State Energy Plan (SEP), a blueprint for funding energy-related initiatives throughout Virginia.

The ARRA funding will be allocated as follows:

• $15 million to the Virginia Energy Efficiency Rebate Program which will provide rebates to consumers who purchase energy efficient products and equipment.
• $15 million to the new Renewable Energy Rebate Program which will provide rebates to Virginians who install renewable energy generation systems such as solar or wind systems.
• $10 million for biomass and waste-to-energy projects, available to localities and individual projects.

Kaine also announced $9.7 million in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG). These grants will be distributed to small local governments for a number of eligible purposes, including:

• Development and implementation of an energy efficiency strategy.
• Energy audits and retrofits of homes and commercial buildings.
• Energy efficiency retrofits of nonprofit organizations and governmental buildings.
• Transportation measures to conserve energy.
• Financial incentive programs for energy efficiency improvements.
• Application of energy distribution technologies such as district heating and cooling systems.
• Installation of light emitting diodes (LED) in traffic signals and for indirect lighting of the outside of buildings.
• Use in any government building of onsite renewable energy such as solar thermal, solar electric, wind energy, or geothermal.

Kaine continues to advance his "Renew Virginia" initiative to promote renewable energy, create green jobs and encourage preservation of the environment.