"While the effort has been criticized in the past for administrative delays and bureaucratic confusion, several U.S. mayors have nothing but praise for the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program.

In fact, much of the discussion at yesterday afternoon's meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Energy Standing Committee involved tactical discussions on how the program can be taken from a onetime authorization as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to an annual part of future federal budgets.

The block grant program provides funding to states and local entities for projects that improve energy efficiency and reduce fossil fuel emissions.

Yesterday, mayors from around the country were eager to share success stories on how the block grants helped their particular cities."

John McArdle reports for Greenwire January 20, 2011. [2]