Federal Funding Fridays

6/21/24 – Updates on ETIPP, special opp on RACER grant, solar webinars and more

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • From Brett Crecelius, Community Resilience Project Coordinator for the City of Duluth, MN
    • As a recipient of a RACER grant (Renewables Advancing Community Energy Resilience), Duluth is working on a toolkit to help communities create and implement their own Resilience Plans, as well as create a comprehensive and quick method for Solar PV and Storage deployment. The final toolkit will be made available by both Duluth and the DOE to help other cold-climate communities in climate zones 6 & 7 deploy solar PV and storage rapidly in their community by the end of 2025. Duluth is looking for other cities to host workshops in early 2025 to help refine and provide feedback for the drafted toolkit.  For more information on how to partner with Duluth as a host community, please contact Brett Crecelius.

GRANTS

  • Michigan EGLE EJ Impact Grant – Due July 15
  • ETIPP (DOE):  Energy Transition Initiatives Partnership (remote and island communities): Due July 10
    • MN and WI coastal communities: The lead applicant is a local government (e.g., municipality, county, city, town), a Tribe or Tribal organization, a community-based organization (including nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations), a special purpose district (e.g., school district, water district, sewer district), an academic institution, a municipal utility, or an electric co-op.
    • Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance is available to provide TA on this grant – contact Celeste Coughlin.
  • Clean Energy to Communities (DOE):

RESOURCES & EVENTS:

  • The Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan has a helpful grant tracker that includes IRA tax programs. It’s a great way to get a quick look at the opportunities that are available. Check it out here!
  • Michigan has announced their EJ Accelerator – see here for more info.
  • DOE webinars on solar
    • The National Community Solar Partnership, a coalition of community solar stakeholders working to expand access to affordable community solar and enable communities to realize other benefits, such as increased resilience and workforce development. 
    • The Community Power Accelerator, which connects nonprofit community-based organizations to developers, investors, and philanthropists. Learn how to build a capital stack to fund clean energy projects. Register here