In 2009, The Governor's Energy Office (GEO)1 received an American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) allocation of $49,222,000 through the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) State Energy Program (SEP). The DOE stated goals for the SEP-ARRA grant were: to increase energy efficiency to reduce energy costs and consumption for consumers, businesses and government reduce the U.S. reliance on imported energy; improve the reliability of electricity and fuel supply and the delivery of energy services; and reduce the impacts of energy production and use on the environment. The GEO viewed this allocation as an important one-time opportunity to remove market barriers to the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy resources statewide.
