Chuck Kutscher (Director, Buildings and Thermal Systems Center, RASEI)
A proposal by Dr. Chuck Kutscher, a Fellow of CU Boulder's Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI), was recently voted as one of the CLEEN (Clean Economy Employment Now) Project’s top three ideas for Congressional budget reconciliation.
The CLEEN Project has collected a total of 191 federal ideas to combat climate change, create jobs, and advance climate justice. Dr. Kutscher's proposal, "Solar, Weatherization, and Electrification Package (SWEP) for Existing U.S. Homes," adds building electrification and rooftop solar photovoltaics to the energy efficiency retrofit measures performed for low-income homes in the nation's Weatherization Assistance Program. Together with financing mechanisms (such as a low-interest loan or a property-assessed clean energy, or PACE, program), the package is designed to help establish the industry to cost-effectively convert homes from natural gas to electricity. Combining solar and electrification with weatherization up front is considerably more cost-effective than electrifying later.
About the CLEEN Project
The CLEEN Project is the nation’s first co-operative idea database designed specifically for federal leaders and focused on providing actionable ideas to combat climate change and advance climate justice.
The CLEEN Project was created through a collective of more than 250 contributors and 75 Advisory Board members from the private sector, federal and state government, environmental justice organizations, and leading climate-focused think tanks who share a desire to help catalyze job creation and a 21st century clean and just economy.
About RASEI
The Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI, pronounced RAY-see) is a joint institute between CU Boulder and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) addressing important, complex problems in energy that require a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional approach.
Its mission is to expedite solutions that transform energy by advancing renewable energy science, engineering, and analysis through research, education, and industry partnerships.