Portland’s climate action fund is preparing to invest $140 million toward 3,100 home retrofits over the next five years. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decrease energy usage, lower utility bills and increase housing resilience for qualified homeowners, renters and multifamily homes within Portland city limits.
But first, Portland Clean Energy Fund staff must get pieces in place to launch and lead that effort. Energy fund staff are seeking City Council’s authorization to begin a competitive search for administrators to oversee the fund’s next rounds of investments.
Portland Commissioner Carmen Rubio, who oversees the city’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, said the proposed home retrofit grant program showcases the best of what the fund can offer.
“This [grant program] focuses on the places that we spend so much of our time in — our homes,” she said. “While this program is focused on single-family homes, rest assured that we also have substantial clean energy programs for our apartments and multifamily buildings.”
FILE: In this 2022 file photo, the basement of the Musser family home in Portland is heated with ductless mini-splits. The single-family home was retrofitted to reduce the family’s carbon footprint. Now Portland is preparing to launch a grant program to help low- and moderate-income households in the city pay for similar upgrades.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The administrators who energy fund staff are asking City Council to authorize will be responsible for outreach, customer application and qualification as well as contractor management and support of the program.
Staff are also seeking customer navigators that would provide customer engagement and translation and a quality assurance provider.
“One third of all homeowners in the city of Portland, 42,000 is an estimate I’ve seen, are considered low income, with incomes at or below 80% of area median income,” PCEF’s Clean Energy Project Manager Kris Grube said. “This program will not only lower energy bills and improve the comfort, resiliency and housing stability of low-income households in Portland, it will also provide an opportunity to serve renters and moderate-income households.”
This is the first step to begin the next round of investments from the city’s climate fund. PCEF staff will work directly with administrators to get the grant program going and expect to return to City Council with recommendations in July.
Four levels of homes will eligible for energy retrofits — owner-occupied, low-income, moderate-income, and renter-occupied houses. Each qualified home selected for the program will receive a thorough assessment by a certified contractor that includes checking for air leaks, measuring ventilation for healthy indoor air quality and determining what upgrades will provide the best greenhouse gas emissions reductions, Grube said.
Homeowners and renters will qualify based on income. A low-income program targets households at 80% of the median income, while a moderate-income program is for households at 120-150% of median.
Projects could involve deep energy retrofits that include insulation, high efficiency heating and cooling systems, at a cost of up to $50,000 per home, or high-impact energy efficiency measures with ductless heat pumps or attic insulation that could cost $15,000 to $30,000 per home.
“These are the measures with the greatest utility bill savings and the greatest greenhouse gas reductions,” Grube said.
According to Grube, PCEF-funded upgrades could allow low-income households to save up to 30% on their energy bills, moderate income households about 20% and renters around 15%.
The program will also develop and boost green energy jobs, including one-on-one mentoring, technical training and certifications and equipment grants.
“The program will reduce 120 to 150 metric tons of lifetime CO2 equivalent emissions,” she said. “That’s like removing 30,000 to 36,000 gas-powered cars from the road for a year.”
The program will also create opportunities to leverage federal funding starting in 2025, through the Inflation Reduction Act, which has set more than $350 billion for climate action throughout the nation.
City Council is scheduled for a vote on May 22 to authorize the search for program administrators.