President Obama Talks Energy in Savannah

Obama in Georgia

Consumers could be seeing money back from the federal government for any improvements completed on their homes that would help them save energy.  President Obama used a stop at Savannah Technical College in Georgia to unveil his new Home Star program.

With unemployment in the construction sector near 25%, White House officials are hoping this program will create jobs when homeowners begin improvements.   President Obama explained that many of the supplies and materials used in energy efficiency improvements are American made.  “Here’s one of the best things about energy efficiency – it turns out that energy-efficient windows or insulation, those things are products that are almost exclusively manufactured right here in the United States of America.  It’s very hard to ship windows from China.”

Homeowners could get up to $3000 in immediate rebates from vendors such as Home Depot or Lowe’s as well as contractors. White House officials are anticipating two to three million homeowners would take advantage of the program.  The President admits retrofitting a home can be costly but says it’s necessary.   “It will have some costs on the front end,” the President told the audience at Savannah Technical College, “you buy a new boiler, or you get some insulation, or you get some new windows, that’s going to have an initial cost…but it’s what’s right to plan for our future.”

Before the speech, President Obama met with some local business leaders who would benefit from the retrofit energy efficiency program.  Mr. Obama also spent time with a group of college students who were learning brick laying. {VignetteVideo assettitl="Obama+in+Savannah%2C+Georgia" id="0CCB6EEF4B86232B2180D01578D753E8" width="375" aspectratio="1.77" height="211" autoplay="off" }

After the speech, the President had lunch at a local restaurant before touring a steel company.  Plates were piled high at Mrs. Wilkes, an old time family style restaurant where Mr. Obama dined on fried chicken, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, baked beans and potato salad.  He told reporters, “I don’t want any lectures about my cholesterol.”