SystemThinkers: EPA News Release (Region 3): Delaware Developer is Tops in Energy Efficiency

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

EPA News Release (Region 3): Delaware Developer is Tops in Energy Efficiency

Contact: Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543, smith.bonnie@epa.gov

Delaware Developer is Tops in Energy Efficiency

PHILADELPHIA (March 31, 2010) – In a ceremony today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development presented Milford Housing Development Corporation (MHDC) of Delaware the ENERGY STAR Excellence in Affordable Housing award for its contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency.

MHDC, one of Delaware’s largest non-profit builders of affordable housing, received the award for the second consecutive year for incorporating energy-efficient appliances or practices at its developments for families and seniors in Kent and Sussex Counties in Delaware. Since 2009, MHDC has been building homes that are 100 percent ENERGY STAR qualified and implementing energy efficiency measures in redevelopments.

“Here at Manchester Manor, where we are standing today, ten families worked with MHDC to build their homes. Thanks to the dedication of partners, like Milford Housing Development Corporation, families living in ENERGY STAR qualified homes are saving money on their energy bills while also improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Shawn M. Garvin, EPA Regional Administrator for the mid-Atlantic region.

This year, EPA awarded 17 ENERGY STAR Excellence in Affordable Housing awards nationwide. The award recognizes local governments, non-profits, non-governmental organizations or housing financing agencies that have made exceptional or market-leading contributions toward advancing energy efficiency in affordable housing through the use of ENERGY STAR-qualified products and appliances or ENERGY STAR residential construction guidelines.

"We at MHDC appreciate being recognized by EPA for our commitment to building quality affordable housing with energy savings components that benefit families and their communities now and in the future. I am so proud of our team and the many partners we collaborate with to make housing better and more energy efficient for all in Delaware,” said MHDC President and CEO, David Moore.

In 2009, more than 5,000 ENERGY STAR qualified homes were built using public funding, including a 30 percent increase in homes built using funds from the federal Community Development Block Grant program.

Eight states, including Delaware, now require all new homes funded with low-income housing tax credits to be ENERGY STAR qualified, and more than 40 state housing finance agencies give preference to projects that include ENERGY STAR products and construction practices.

American consumers and businesses have been saving energy and protecting the environment for more than two decades by partnering with EPA’s ENERGY STAR program. In 2009 alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved nearly $17 billion on their energy bills. To date, 1 million new homes and nearly 9,000 office buildings, schools, hospitals and public buildings have earned the ENERGY STAR. Since 2000, 3 billion ENERGY STAR certified products have been sold.

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