From Recommendations to Real Change: How CEP is Transforming Homes and Communities
From Recommendations to Real Change: How CEP is Transforming Homes and Communities
May 14, 2026 Home, PCEF, Clients
Resilience is at the core of Community Energy Project’s work. It looks like safer homes during extreme weather, equitable access to climate solutions, and a skilled, well-paid workforce prepared to meet the needs of our communities. It also means reducing carbon emissions in ways that directly improve the lives of the people most impacted by climate change.
These meaningful outcomes are made possible through CEP’s home retrofit program, funded by the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF), a community-led initiative designed to create a more sustainable future. As a recipient of the 2021 PCEF Community Grant, CEP has retrofitted 207 homes, generating more than $7.8 million in contracted work. Each home retrofit reduces an average of 2.5 tons of CO2 emissions.
For Geoff Fey, CEP’s PCEF Program Manager, this work represents a vision years in the making. Geoff started at CEP the same week Portland voters approved PCEF. At the time, CEP’s work looked very different. The organization could provide recommendations to homeowners, but did not yet have the resources to deliver large-scale home upgrades directly.
“I remember thinking ‘wouldn’t it be cool if we could give recommendations on single-measure repairs to the low-income homeowners we were working with through Portland Housing Bureau?’” said Geoff. “It felt bad only offering someone plastic on their windows when they had inefficient heating or no insulation.”
CEP’s comprehensive home retrofits now address these challenges in addition to other health and safety risks. For homeowners like Kathy who has lived in her home for over 40 years, the impact is immediate and lasting.
“Every time I use the handrails on my stairs, I just grin,” Kathy said. “I think of these people that took the time to study and solve the issue.”
Local contractors complete the retrofits, bringing technical expertise and reflecting the communities they serve. CEP works with eight contractors, including seven minority- and women-owned businesses. These partnerships support equitable workforce development while making homes healthier, safer, and more energy efficient. Learn more about our partners at Comfort Insulation Specialists, LLC and H.E.L.P. Group and Olvera Heating & Cooling.
Through strong partnerships and the support of PCEF, CEP is demonstrating what community-centered climate action can look like in practice. The program is not only reducing emissions, it is creating economic opportunity, strengthening neighborhoods, and improving quality of life for frontline communities across Portland.
