Using $450,000 of federal stimulus money, Dane County is starting a revolving loan fund to help residents and businesses here become more energy-efficient.
The program will initially make loans to nonprofit groups but will eventually be available to anyone, including businesses and homeowners.
"From a simplicity point of view, we decided to start the loan fund with nonprofits, because we can get that money out quickly, and those are good projects that will serve our nonprofits for years to come," says Supv. McDonell. "When we start getting that money back, we can look at lending it out for private individuals."
The loans could be used for energy-efficiency projects like insulation or for green energy, says Supv. Matt Veldran. He hopes the first loans will go out in a few months. "There will be a cap [on the loan amount], but we haven't established it yet."
In all, Dane County is slated to receive $2.3 million in stimulus money for energy-efficiency projects. McDonell says the loan fund will "mean our stimulus money will continue to be used for years to come."
