Decorah Awarded $233,638 Grant for Cost-Efficent Energy

DECORAH -- The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) has awarded the City of Decorah a $233,638 Iowa Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant for Decorah's "Low-Income Energy Savings Initiative." The bulk of the funding will be used to retrofit two low-income, multi-family properties with efficient air source heat pumps. Another portion of the funding will be used to provide free energy audits for low-income, owner-occupied households to identify energy efficiency opportunities. The rest of the funding will be used to provide coaching to Decorah homeowners about how they can access and utilize rebate programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Administered by the State Energy Office, the courses will become available during the grant period. The City of Decorah also provided $20,000 to matching fund through electric franchise fee revenue, allocated for projects related to the work of the Decorah Sustainability Plan. Decorah Sustainability Commission members worked with Winneshiek Energy District staff to develop Decorah's application for funding. "This is wonderful news," Decorah Mayor Lorraine Borowski said. "The low-income residents of the Woolen Mill Apartments and the seniors living in the Washington Court Apartments will be the primary beneficiaries of these funds. I am so pleased that Decorah's matching funds could leverage such a major grant." "I want to single out Michelle Barness for her yeoman's work drafting Decorah's application," Jim Martin-Schramm, chair of the Decorah Sustainability Commission said. "We also could not have submitted such a strong application without the expert guidance of Paul Cutting, the Winneshiek Energy District's lead energy planner." Feed your curiosity! Subscribe to the free newsletter and indulge in all that's local. Your friends will be impressed.