Houston announced a new city wide program

Houston’s mayor Annise Parker announced a new city wide program that offers up to $200,000 to commercial building owners to retrofit their buildings to make them more energy efficient.  The program is also supported by funding from DOE’s Conservation Block Grant, which is part of the general stimulus funding.  The incentive to Houston’s commercial building owners is expected to help the city comply with the EPA’s newest ozone requirements.  An emissions inventory conducted by public agencies and published in 2010 showed that residential commercial and industrial energy use produced more than half of the area’s greenhouse gases.