U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced Tuesday the availability of nearly $300 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for state-run rebate programs for consumer purchases of new Energy Star-qualified home appliances.

"Appliances consume a huge amount of our electricity, so there's enormous potential to both save energy and save families money every month," said Chu. "These rebates will help families make the transition to more efficient appliances, making purchases that will directly stimulate the economy and create jobs."

Eligible Appliances

States have the flexibility to select which residential Energy Star-qualified appliances to include in their programs and the individual rebate amount for each appliance. DOE recommends that states and territories focus their program efforts on heating and cooling equipment, appliances, and water heaters as these products offer the greatest energy savings potential.

Energy Star-qualified appliance categories eligible for rebates include:

• central air conditioners
• heat pumps (air source and geothermal)
• boilers
• furnaces (oil and gas)
• room air conditioners
• clothes washers
• dishwashers
• freezers and refrigerators
• water heaters

The new funding will be awarded to states and territories, through their energy offices, using a formula set forth in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Each state or territory is required to submit a plan that specifies:

• Which Energy Star appliance categories will be included in their rebate program
  
• The rebate level for each product type
  
• How the rebates will be processed, and
  
• Their plan for recycling old appliances

States and territories must first file an initial application expressing their intent to participate by Aug. 15, 2009, followed by a full application by Oct. 15, 2009. Approximately 10 percent to 25 percent of each award will be spent on administrative costs.

States and territories will receive 10 percent of the funds after submitting the initial application with the balance awarded after their program plans are approved. DOE anticipates that a vast majority of funding will be awarded by Nov. 30, 2009.

The complete Funding Opportunity Announcement, under number DE-FOA-0000119, can be viewed at Grants.gov.

To see the funding allocations for each state, Click Here.