Source 23: alternative energy for low-income housing grants (interview)

Interview with Jeff Jackson, Housing Authority of Jackson County (2/28/09, Rogue River, OR)

Summary: 

This was an interview conducted by me with an employee of the Housing Authority of Jackson County who gives loans to low-income households to repair their homes and make them more energy efficient.

Topic:

Should the Obama administration allocate large amounts of money ($150 billion) in this time of economic crisis to alternative energy sources?

Category:

Citizen- stakeholder

What is it?

It is a fromal interview conducted by me (Joey Jackson) with an Oregon government employee.

Author:

Joey Jackson

Support:

Jeff Jackson, housing rehabilitation specialist

US Department of Housing and Urban Developement (HUD)

OHCS conference on alternative energy options for low-income households

Legislative concept for Low-income funding for energy efficiency (L.I.F.E.)

Jeff Jackson is the source being interviewed about the effectiveness of alternative energy policies with regards to his work providing government grants for low-income households.  He uses documentation from the other sources to provide statistical and other factual evidence for the claims that he makes.

Audience and Agenda:

Mr. Jackson works for the Housing Authority of Jackson County which gets its funding through grants from the state of Oregon and the city of Medford.  This year he applied for $400,000 from the state and $200,000 from the city for the program.  The program also gets money from the sale of homes that have been improved by the program, but this is not a steady source of revenue.  The loans that are given are zero-interest loans.  The purpose of the program is to provide energy efficiency upgrades to people’s homes who could not otherwise afford it.  They have recently been looking more and more into the use of alternative energy sources as a way to get the most out of their investments.

Usefulness:

The program that Mr. Jackson is invovled in is a good indicator of the future of government investment in the use of alternative energy sources.  This program is using the most cost effective technologies to help people make their homes as energy efficient as possible.  This is proof that the government is truly investing in alternative energy technologies.  By starting with the people who are the most in need of cost saving strategies for their home energy uses, this program shows that the alternative energy technologies used are indeed a solid investment for future energy needs.  One of the main alternative energy technologies being used by the program is solar water heaters which are being used in multiple housing units and have been shown to incure no cost to the homeowner over the course of the year.  However, they are a more expensive initial investment for parts and installation than conventional water heaters.  To combat this, the government is giving $2,000- $3,000 tax incentives for homeowners to install these water heaters in their homes.  They also give incentives to convert from electricity to natural gas because it has been found that natural gas is a much more efficient heating source.  Overall, the goal of this program is to start the journey towards a more energy efficient future and by  looking at what technologies programs such as these are looking into, we can begin to see where the road to our future energy needs is leading us.  This source also provides information about what local governments are doing with regards to alternative energy investment.

About HUD:

http://www.hud.gov/

About housing authority of Jackson County:

http://www.hajc.net/about.asp