MAYOR HANNEMANN APPLAUDS CITY EPA GRANT   

Mayor Hannemann announced today from Washington, D.C. that the City & County of Honolulu has been awarded a grant of nearly half a million dollars from the US Environmental Protection Agency as part of its Climate Showcase Communities Program.

“I’m delighted that the EPA considers our City’s proposal to be one of the most creative and innovative in the country,” Hannemann said.  “This Climate Showcase Communities Grant will go a long way toward reducing our dependence on foreign oil, which is a key component of our nationally-recognized 21^st Century Ahupuaa City Sustainability Plan.”

The project includes: door-to-door outreach to approximately 7,000 households; the replacement of 20,000-plus incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient CFL/LED light bulbs and the coordination of educational community meetings.  During the outreach phase of the project, approximately 300 households will be selected to receive free energy monitors, weatherization kits, and/or energy audits.  The project will be documented to quantify results and to allow for the sharing of best practices.

Estimated outcomes include:

GHG Emissions Reductions-3,700 metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent(CO2e) annually

Residential Energy Savings-$660,000 annually

Electricity Use Reduction-2.7 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually

“We are taking a multi-faceted approach to reducing fossil-fuel consumption while promoting the development and use of renewable energy sources,” Hannemann said.  “The project is focusing specifically on communities throughout Oahu that have been slow to implement efficiency and conservation measures.  Reductions in energy consumption achieved through this program will reduce GHG emissions from both direct energy consumption and from reduced delivery of fuels to Hawaii, and it may well serve as a model for other cities in the future.”

Hannemann said the next step will be for the City to issue requests for proposals to solicit community partners to implement with the City the Climate Showcase Communities Program.

Mayor Hannemann is in Washington participating in the US Conference of Mayors Winter Leadership Meeting.  Hannemann serves as a USCM Trustee.  Mayor Hannemann joined a bipartisan delegation of more than thirty U.S. mayors in meetings with federal lawmakers on Capitol Hill to encourage them to pass a comprehensive jobs bill that puts Americans back to work and invests in Main Street metropolitan economies, where joblessness is concentrated.

Hannemann has also invited the City Council, through its Chairman Todd Apo, to his meeting tomorrow with Federal Transit Administration head Peter Rogoff to discuss Honolulu’s rail project, which is expected to create thousands of new jobs and help revitalize Hawaii’s economy. Rogoff and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently announced that $55 million for Honolulu’s project has been included in President Obama’s proposed budget, and that the project is poised to receive a full funding grant agreement of $1.55 billion next year.

Hannemann said he is also hopeful that the US Senate will approve the Travel Promotion Act, which would create a public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier international travel destination.   Mayor Hannemann is the Chair of the USCM Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment and Sports Committee and led the effort to include tourism and the arts in the USCM Ten-Point Plan and the 2010 Metro Agenda for America. 

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