“Cash for Caulkers” is nearly here. Last month the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5019 – also known as the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 or “Cash for Caulkers” – to kick-start construction, create jobs and cut back carbon emissions. While the bill still needs to clear the Senate, supporters predict it will pass this summer.

This is great news for homeowners and contractors alike. The bill provisions $6 billion for energy-efficient or “green” retrofits. It is expected to fund renovations for 3 million families, create 168,000 new jobs and save consumers $9.2 billion on energy bills over the next 10 years.

But in order to cash in on upcoming rebates, homeowners and contractors will need to do their homework. There are 13 types of retrofits eligible for funding. Each retrofit has unique eligibility requirements and set rebate amounts. You can read the full text here.

We made it really easy to wade through the legalese. Below is a table that breaks down the 13 retrofits of the bill, along with the requirements and rebate amount for each. In addition to the requirements we listed, each retrofit must comply with Building Performance Institute (BPI) standards or other procedures to be approved by the Secretary of Energy.

We also decided to combine these retrofits into three packages that will help homeowners get the best bang for their buck. But first, let’s review the program details:

Who is Eligible and How to Qualify?
The Home Star bill offers two rebate programs, the “Silver Star” program and “Gold Star” program. Here are details for each:

Silver Star – Unless another amount is specified in the “Rebate Amount” column above, homeowners will receive a $1,000 rebate for each retrofit listed in our table. The maximum amount of rebates paid out will be $3,000 or 50% of the total cost, whichever is lower. For example, if a homeowner spends a total of $4,000 on eligible retrofits, they will get $2,000 or 50% back as a rebate. If they spend $8,000 on eligible retrofits, they would only receive $3,000 in rebates instead of $4,000 (which would be 50% of the cost).

Gold Star – To qualify for the Gold Star program, homeowners must reduce their total home energy consumption by 20%. A $3,000 rebate will be rewarded for this reduction. Homeowners can receive an additional $1,000 for each additional 5% reduction, up to a total rebate of $8,000 or 50% of the total retrofit cost. Rebates may be provided for any of the retrofits listed under the Silver Star program, or for any other energy-saving measure, including: home energy management systems, high-efficiency appliances, highly reflective roofing, awnings, canopies, and similar external fenestration (window) attachments, automatic boiler water temperature controllers, energy-efficient wood products, insulated vinyl siding, and mechanical air circulation and heat exchangers in a passive-solar home.

The Home Star bill also includes rebates for do-it-yourself (DIY) homeowners that are confident in taking on the renovations themselves. DIY’ers can get up to $250 in rebates for products purchased without installation service. This rebate is limited to attic insulation, crawl space insulation and/or air-sealing retrofits.

Another great resource is the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency or “DSIRE” website. This allows you to view rebates, loan and grant programs, financing options and tax credits offered in your region.

Finally, new home buyers should consider an energy-efficient mortgage or energy improvement mortgage. These mortgages allow consumers to count savings from energy bills as additional income, ultimately giving them more buying power. Home Energy Magazine has a helpful article.

Continue reading here for more information on 1)sealing your house envelop, 2) Repairing leaking ducts and 3) upgrading your furnace and water heater.

- This article was originally featured on Software Advice at Cash for Caulkers – The Definitive Guide To The Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010

Thacker stated that more than two-thirds of the electricity in this country is consumed by the four following groups: big box retailers, office towers, universities, and hospitals. The goal of the Turbinator is to provide electricity directly to these locations instead of being fed back into the grid. Information on the website, which remains under construction at this juncture, is scarce. The company appears to have been founded in either 2008 or 2009. Both dates appear on the site.

According to Thacker, the company has received approximately $23 million in start up funding and has orders for 32 devices. Exact cost per unit remains unclear, but will range between $149,000 and $800,000. At this point the technology remains under development and therefore untested. Construction of a prototype remains a crucial component in determining the effectiveness of the Turbinator.

[Image source]

As mentioned previously, Colorado officials increased the percentage of the state’s electricity required to be generated from alternative energy.The Post article stated that some would go even further than the current 30% by 2020. “Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff promises 50 percent by 2030.” This target includes nuclear energy expansion. Possible uranium mills stand as one of the article’s foci.

Nuclear is not the only energy source that has drawn resistance. Whether stemming from the environmental reviews necessary or landowners’ fears, geothermal, wind, and solar projects also face opposition. According to the Post,

Karen Alderman Harbert, president and chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, says the layers of federal, state and local ‘green tape’ hindering new energy projects are ‘a plague on our economy and our energy security and our environment.’

Harbert recently surveyed all the U.S. energy projects seeking licensing and siting approval and found 380 stalled or canceled “as a result of the abuse of the environmental permitting process.” More than 40 percent of those are renewable-energy projects.

In the past three years, bureaucratic regulations have cost the country 250,000 new jobs and $560 billion in capital investment, Harbert said.

In order to expedite certain alternative energy projects and clarify these issues, Colorado’s GEO (Governor’s Energy Office) “recently launched the Renewable Energy Development Infrastructure Project to help untangle the challenges of installing new transmission lines needed to move power from wind and solar hot spots in Colorado to more populated areas.”

Needless to say, any obstacle to clean energy creates a difficult environment for the generation of these projects. Considering the start-up costs for solar, geothermal, and wind farms, these endeavors begin at a bit of deficit as compared to traditional energy sources. While incidents like BP’s Deep Horizon oil leak may signify a a shift in attitudes toward petroleum, fossil fuels still make up roughly 85% of the United States’ energy portfolio. If this country is to build a clean energy economy, subsidies like those that help build petroleum and other energy industries would go a long way toward leveling the playing field.

[Image source]

“I’ve been a pilot for 40 years now, but this flight has been the most incredible one of my flying career,” Mr. Borschberg said as he landed, according to a statement from the organizers of the project. “Just sitting there and watching the battery charge level rise and rise thanks to the sun. I have just flown more than 26 hours without using a drop of fuel and without causing any pollution.”

A New York Times article quotes project founder Bertrand Piccard saying “We are on the verge of the perpetual flight.” The next goal for the plane with a 210 ft wingspan is a non-stop flight around the world.

Solar Impulse is propeller driven and made of carbon fiber. The 3,500 pounds are kept aloft by four small electric motors. The plane reached a maximum speed of 68 knots, or 78 miles per hour, and climbed to 28,000ft. The plane’s designers say the seven-year-old project is not designed to replace jet transportation — or its comforts. With temperatures of minus 20 at one point, that is a safe bet. Simply the fact that a solar powered plane was able to fly successfully in the dark, however, is an achievement in its own right.

[Image Credit]

According to the White House’s press release, the Arizona project is expected to “create about 1,600 construction jobs with over 70 percent of the construction components and products manufactured here in the USA.” This plant will generate enough power to supply roughly 70,000 homes with electricity. Abound Solar plans to build “two new plants, one in Colorado and one in Indiana. These projects will create more than 2,000 construction jobs, and over 1,500 permanent jobs as the plants produce millions of state of the art solar panels each year.”

Many of the stimulus jobs have been in road construction, but this funding will create short term construction jobs, long term manufacturing positions, and reduce dependence on nonrenewable energy supplies. With the opening of the nation’s first college dedicated to clean energy jobs, the future appears bright for the solar panel manufacturing industry in the United States. To hear the president’s announcement, click here (mp3). The video is below:

[Image source]