Letter from PIH Multifamily

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

WASHINGTON, DC 20410-6000

Assistant Secretary for deputy Assistant Secretary for

Public AND Indian Housing multifamily Housing

Dear Executive Directors, Property Owners, and Property Managers:

We are writing to let you know about an important research project the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is undertaking and to enlist your support and assistance.

HUD is interested in conducting a baseline assessment of the renewable energy capacity within its public housing (PHA) and multifamily-assisted housing (MFH) stock. This effort will be the Department’s first step toward meeting the 100 megawatt (MW) goal of renewable energy capacity by 2020 within the federally-assisted housing stock—LIHTC properties (Treasury), Rural Development properties (USDA), and PHA and MFH properties (HUD)—as specified in President Obama’s Climate Action Plan (CAP).

Within the public housing and multifamily-assisted housing arenas, we have some information about the renewable energy systems that are currently installed in some of our agencies and properties; however, we do not have a comprehensive picture. In order to understand this topic better and educate others about these practices, HUD is conducting a survey of PHAs and MFHs to explore and document the current installed (and proposed) renewable energy systems, financing and costs used to facilitate the purchase (and/or lease) and installation of the systems, and any barriers and/or challenges that may have been faced regarding these systems. Findings of this study will enable HUD to develop strategies to most efficiently and effectively support its housing portfolio in the acquisition and installation of renewable energy systems.

A central feature of the information gathering for this study will be a two-phase approach for survey administration. The multi-phase approach was chosen so to minimize the response burden placed on targeted participants.

The initial survey will be sent to all targeted participants and consist of a handful of questions that can be completed within 5 minutes. These results will provide a snapshot of the agencies and properties that have, do not have, and/or plan to install renewable energy systems in the future.

The second phase will be more in-depth and target the participants who specified that they have (or there is informal evidence indicating that they have) installed renewable energy systems. These questions will focus on the type, capacity, and financing and costs associated with the installed renewable energy systems. It is anticipated that it will take participants approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

You will soon receive an email from the Department providing you with a link to a web-based survey form. If someone else within your agency or property should be the respondent, please forward the link on to that person. You may find that several staff will need to contribute to the responses, based on the range of questions asked. The e-mail will also contain a phone number and e-mail address for you to send any questions regarding the survey.

We ask for your assistance in completing these surveys and providing the information requested. With your help, we will have better information about the renewable energy practices of PHAs and MFHs around the country. We plan to share this information with all PHAs and MFHs, as well as to feature innovative and interesting practices.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

 

Sandra B. Henriquez Benjamin T. Metcalf

Assistant Secretary for Deputy Assistant Secretary for

Public and Indian Housing Multifamily Housing