Meadowlark Energy Year in Review!

2010 was a big year for Meadowlark Energy. We launched our performance service in Southeast Michigan in the summer of 2010 with the acquisition of Arbor Insulation for insulation services and Buildscan Thermography for energy audit services.

Our launch and early growth have followed both local and national trends that point towards strong growth and an optimistic future for energy efficiency and building performance improvement. Here are a couple of highlights:

Michigan Saves

The State of Michigan launched a new financing program for Home Owners called Michigan Saves that provides home owners across the state with a new front end financing option to improve the performance of their home. This innovative program allows home owners to access up to $12,500 in unsecured financing for qualified improvements at interest rates no more than 7%.

Better Buildings for Michigan

The State launched another innovative program called Better Buildings for Michigan which will fund energy audits and retrofits in 16 neighborhoods across the state. Meadowlark Energy was proud to be 1 of 3 contractors selected to participate in the program’s first neighborhood program in Ferndale, Michigan. Our team developed a focused audit and ‘base package’ of improvements that we could deliver with a 4 person team in a half day. We found that our teams were able to deliver as much as 10% improvement in the air infiltration rate for these homes in these half day projects.

Utility Rebate Programs

In addition to these new programs, we found that consumers were able to take advantage of generous rebate programs through Detroit Edison, and we were excited that Consumers Energy announced a broad range of new efficiency rebates for 2011.

Missed Opportunities

In 2010 we anticipated the passage of 2 major incentives that have the potential to drive significant growth in energy efficiency and building performance.

Home Star

We went to Washington DC with a group from the industry group Efficiency First! to lobby for passage of Home Star legislation, a piece of legislation that would provide over $8B in rebates for home performance. This bill passed the House in the summer, but did not come to the floor of the Senate.

PACE Financing

Second, we were impressed to see initiative in the City of Ann Arbor to enact a financing program called PACE which provides up to $30,000 in financing linked to a homes property tax. This program was stalled at the Federal level in the near term.

We look forward to being a leader in the Building Performance industry in 2011, working with home owners, building owners, and policy makers to continue to build on the progress that we have, and can make, as an industry.