Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the State Energy Office is receiving approximately $52 million in additional funding from the Department of Energy. The funding comes through three different federal programs:

• $38,284,000 through the State Energy Program (SEP);
• $9,593,500 through Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block; and
• $3.7 million for a new Appliance Rebate Program.

New Programs Using State Energy Program (SEP) Funds

Pending approval from the U.S. Department of Energy, the State Energy Office plans to implement the following programs.

1. Revolving Loan Program for Energy Efficiency ($34.2 million): This program will establish a revolving loan fund to provide a sustainable source of financing for cost-effective energy efficiency improvements in Kansas homes and small businesses.
• To ensure improvements will be cost-effective, the Revolving Loan Program requires all funded projects to be based on an audit and a customized energy conservation proposal from an approved energy auditor.
• Participants can access the Revolving Loan Program either through (1) Partner Banks or (2) Partner Utilities.
• Pending DOE approval, the new program will be available on July 15, 2009.
2. Loan Fee Rebate Program ($481,000): This program will provide $250 rebates to banks to offset loan origination fees.
3. Energy Audit Rebate Program ($350,000): This program will provide a $350 rebate to offset the costs of the energy audit for the first 1,000 participants who elect to implement approved projects through the Revolving Loan Program.
4. Training Program ($250,000): This program will provide support to (1) qualified energy auditor training institutions for initiatives to "Train the Trainers" and enhancements to facilities, such as expanded labs for furnace testing (see grant announcement); and (2) fund up to 100 full scholarships ($1,200 to $1,500) to those attending the energy auditor training program.
5. Equipment for New Auditors ($250,000): This program will assist 50 new auditors in obtaining the necessary start-up equipment (e.g, blower door, duct blaster) to start a new business and perform energy audits through the Revolving Loan Program.
6. Marketing Program ($500,000): The State Energy Office will employ the services of a marketing firm to assist with the development and implementation of a strategic promotional campaign.
7. Utility Rate Design – Planning for Comprehensive Changes ($1 million): The Kansas Corporation Commission will employ the services of a consultant to assist in developing and guiding a comprehensive, collaborative planning process to redesign utility rate structures to achieve new goals of energy efficiency and environmental protection.

New Programs Using Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Funds

1. Renewable Energy Grant Program ($3.8 million): This program will provide grants for 25% of the cost (up to $250,000) of renewable energy projects undertaken by local units of government and educational institutions throughout the state. The State Energy Office will submit its application to DOE by June 25, 2009.
2. Enhancing the existing Facility Conservation Improvement Program ($5.7 million): This program will provide enhancements to the existing Facility Conservation Improvement Program (FCIP). Program details are under development. The SEO will submit its application to DOE by June 25, 2009.

How can you help your readers know whether your site can really help them? Do you need a web designer to make it happen? Why is content writing for the web different from any other kind of writing? You'll find answers in this article.

Web Design: Scannability

Would it interest you to know that most web users don't come to your site to appreciate the attractiveness of the design? That's not to say that an attractive web design isn't important.

However, the majority of site visitation happens because the consumer was motivated to look at your site to see if you could give them a reason to purchase from your ecommerce business.

The web is based on small resolution sizes. The words read online aren't even as clear as newsprint. The pictures are often low resolution and a computer screen can tax the best of vision.

Practical Application

One of the most cost effective applications this information can produce is that you may not need a website filled with all the toys such as Java Script or Flash design. These tools add spice to your website, but can often detract or even annoy visitors who are simply looking for information they expect to find on your website.

A well ordered website can reap incredible rewards for ecommerce business. Effective bullet points, keywords or phrases accented in bold type and an easy to navigate page may have a greater impact on your ecommerce web design than anything.

What this may also mean is that the web design options you can chose from may expand.

Self-Directed Design

You see, if you know what will help make your site better you can self-direct the development of the site through template rich designs that allow you total control over the text in an easy to use environment that does not require the use of complicated code or extended training seminars to use.

Obviously many web design experts would rather have you seek an alternative using their personalized service, but in the end you have a stronger interest in the success of your website than a hired web developer.

If you can utilize the tools available to make your site user friendly and highly scannable you will likely find you can achieve your own success in web design.

Writing for the Web

Content writing for web pages is not the same as writing for any other type of content. Thoughts must be compact and content must be scannable.

This means when you write for the web you must help your reader find the subject they are most interested in using a sub-heading or indexing system that allows a quick scan to determine if your web page contains the information they need.

Even if your website does not contain the exact information your visitor wants they may be pleased to know it didn't require extended reading to make that determination. In turn the visitor may venture to other pages of online content to determine if you have the information they need elsewhere on your site.

About the Author: Scott Lindsay