Community Energy Challenge

2011 round-up / special deal for small cities residents

2012-01-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

2011 was a great year for the Community Energy Challenge! The program really hit its stride and we have some amazing numbers to show for it. Jobs supported through the program: 84 Jobs created: 18 (full time equivalent) Number of participating businesses: 114 Completed residential energy efficiency projects: 300+ Participating households: 625 (completed assessments) Average annual savings per

Special offer for residents of Whatcom's small cities

2012-01-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

If you live in one of the small cities of Whatcom County, the Community Energy Challenge has a special offer available to help make energy efficiency even more easy and affordable. For residents of Whatcom's small cities*, for a limited time the entire cost ($195) of a CEC home energy assessment will be refunded when you complete any recommended home energy improvements through the CEC. On

Selling a home? Get an Energy Performance Score!

2011-07-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

Are you a real estate agent or homeowner looking to sell a home in Whatcom County? The Community Energy Challenge is providing a new service that can be a valuable tool for anyone with a house on the market. It’s called an Energy Performance Score (EPS), and it’s like a MPG rating for your home, showing potential buyers how energy efficient it is. GreenWorks Realty recently performed a study of

Community Energy Challenge incentives now cover up to 30% of project costs!

2011-06-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

Good news for Whatcom residents who want to save energy and money! Financial incentives available through the Community Energy Challenge residential program can now cover 30% of project costs or $1,500 - whichever is more. For a limited time, all eligible CEC residential projects have access to a cash incentive totaling 30% of the total cost of each tier (excluding tier 4--windows). The

Another Proud Participant

2011-04-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

We got some great feedback from Flip, a resident of the Columbia Neighborhood who participated in the residential program and is recommending the Community Energy Challenge to her friends and neighbors. Thanks for sharing your story! We've just completed an energy conservation upgrade on our house through the Community Energy Challenge. I cannot recommend this program highly enough! They help

One million square feet of local business space assessed!

2011-03-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

Here at the Community Energy Challenge, we're all about the numbers. The CEC is working toward the goal of helping Whatcom County save $1,000,000 in energy costs by providing affordable energy assessments to local businesses and homes. So far we've assessed 330 homes and completed projects on 80, finding potential savings of $200-$400 or 20-30% of annual energy costs per home. As for local

Introducing new, even lower interest rates on all CEC loans

2011-02-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

We are very happy to announce that all Banner Bank loans for Community Energy Challenge projects now have interest rates between 1.00%-3.00% for individuals1 and 1.50%-3.00% for businesses2. As a key element of making energy efficiency accessible, affordable and easy, the Community Energy Challenge provides preferential term financing through the use of a loan loss reserve fund. Using a grant

City of Bellingham offers water saving rebates

2011-02-03T16:53:00.000-08:00

The Community Energy Challenge and the City Water Conservation Program have teamed up to offer rebates to city water customers participating in the CEC. The rebates, up to $150, apply to certain water conserving fixtures, drip irrigation systems, or rainwater catchment systems. They are intended to make it easier for participants to save water as they save energy and to educate about the

Breaking down barriers to efficiency

2011-01-13T12:19:00.000-08:00