EECBG EVALUATION

Evaluation Overview


The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program was a program operated by DOE from 2009 to 2015 that provided grants and technical assistance to local governments, states, and territories to support a wide variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy activities. It was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and was a one-time program. The purpose of the EECBG National Evaluation was to develop independent estimates of key program outcomes attributable to the program and perform a brief exploration of possible organizational and operational factors influencing program performance.

Outcomes examined as part of the evaluation included energy savings and renewable energy generation, bill savings, cost effectiveness, job creation, and carbon emissions reductions and avoided social costs associated with climate change. The evaluation found that EECBG investment yielded substantially more in dollar savings to program participants than the amount spent by the program, created jobs, and helped avoid adverse economic health effects associated with carbon emissions.

The EECBG National Evaluation results are documented in four separate publications (i.e., volumes). The Executive Summary has also been pulled out as a separate document for convenience.

Acknowledgement

We want to thank the many people who helped make this evaluation possible, including program activity contacts who provided data files and other information via a web-based data collection system. We also wish to thank the members of a Peer Review Panel who reviewed the evaluation plan and conducted a final review of study methods and findings.

Project Team

The evaluation was managed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and performed by a team of independent evaluators, led by DNV GL and assisted by TecMarket Works, Opinion Dynamics Corporation, and EDRG.

Final Reports

  1. National Evaluation of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program: Executive Summary
  2. National Evaluation of the Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (Volume I: Main Body of the Report with Executive Summary)
  3. National Evaluation of the Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (Volume II: Appendices A Through L)
  4. National Evaluation of the Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (Volume III: Appendix M – Summary Tables of Detailed Energy Impacts and Bill Savings Estimates)
  5. National Evaluation of the Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (Volume IV: Appendix N – Final Data Collection Instrument)