Dear Colleagues, In Fiscal Year 2024, NCTCOG is focusing on sending out quarterly digests of funding resources and incentives related to energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy resilience and other related topics that may be of interest to our members. This email is the second of these quarterly digests. We hope that you find this curated list helpful as you are considering implementing new projects or programs at your entity and are looking for funding! When considering any funding source or incentive program, always confirm your eligibility first and start the application process early. A copy of these quarterly digests will be posted on the Energy Management, Efficiency, and Renewable Energy webpage for ease of reference. Did we miss an important resource or incentive that you are aware of? Share your feedback with our team!
Quick Links:
Check out these new resources now available on the Conserve North Texas website!
Featured Funding and Incentives:
DOE: SOLAR ENERGY AND DIFFUSION STUDIES 4 (SEEDS 4)
This opportunity will fund research programs that study the social dimensions of large-scale solar siting. The goal of the award is to identify community engagement strategies, process changes, and other interventions that improve siting processes so that they are procedurally fair, create equitable benefits for communities, and balance the national need to site large-scale solar
generation.
Deadline: Concept papers due January 30, 2024; Full applications due March 14, 2024
Eligibility: State,
local, and tribal governments, for-profit and nonprofit entities, and higher education institutions
EPA: CLEAN SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM REBATES
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 authorizes EPA to offer rebates to replace existing school buses with clean and zero-emission (ZE) models. The 2023 Clean School Bus (CSB) Rebates process includes SAM.gov account registration, rebate application submission, review and selection by EPA, selectees will then submit purchase orders to request payment and then receive payment, which is followed by new bus delivery, existing bus replacement, and project close out.
Deadline: January 31, 2024
Eligibility: Public school districts, Tribal applicants, and third parties
DOE: ENERGY AND CONSERVATION BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Competitive Program aims to support units of local government including Indian Tribes ineligible for direct formula grants from DOE under the EECGB program to lower fossil fuel emissions and energy use in their jurisdictions. EECBG also has a competitive grant program for local governments, state-recognized tribes, or teams of
these communities.
Deadlines: Local and Tribal governments applying to host a Fellow must submit their program application by January 31, 2024 and their host application by March 5, 2024. Local and Tribal governments not applying to host a fellow must apply by April 30, 2024.
Eligibility: States,
local governments, and Tribes
DOE: COMMUNITY ENERGY INNOVATION PRIZE
The Community Energy Innovation Prize aims to support local organizations with proven track records of engaging underserved communities and/or promoting environmental, climate, and energy justice as they enact community-led climate and clean energy solutions. The prize has an additional focus on fostering innovation in clean energy manufacturing ecosystems in historically underserved
communities.
Deadline: Clean Energy Ecosystem and Manufacturing Ecosystem Tracks February 2, 2024, 4 p.m.
Eligibility: Local organizations with proven track records of engaging underserved communities and/or promoting environmental, climate, and energy justice as they enact community-led
climate and clean energy solutions.
DOE: LATEST AND ZERO BUILDING ENERGY CODES FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT
The Latest and Zero Building Energy Codes program is being administered through the DOE’s Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP), and is funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which contains $1 billion to modernize America’s building stock through state and local action on building codes and save Americans money on their energy bills, while making
buildings more resilient to extreme weather events. States and territories pursuing the previously released formula funding opportunity now have until January 31, 2024, to submit their letter of intent (LOI) to reserve formula funding. States and territories that have already submitted their LOI can now start the full application process.
Deadline: Brief concept papers due – February 9, 2024, Full application due- April 30, 2024.
Eligibility: Eligible states, territories, or units of local governments with the authority to adopt building codes
FEMA: BUILDING REESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITIES (BRIC) PROGRAM
Supporting communities as they undertake hazard mitigation projects, reducing the risks they face from disasters and natural hazards. The program’s guiding principles are supporting communities through capability- and capacity-building; encouraging and enabling innovation; promoting partnerships; enabling large infrastructure projects; maintaining flexibility; and providing
consistency.
Deadline: February 29, 2024
Eligibility: States,
local communities, tribes, and territories
DOE: BUILDINGS ENERGY EFFICIENCY FRONTIERS & INNOVATION TECHNOLOGIES (BENEFIT)
This funding opportunity invests in four topic areas: heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and water heating technologies; innovative, replicable, and low-cost roof and attic retrofits technologies; novel approaches to building resilience and addressing capacity constraints; and commercial lighting retrofit advancements.
Deadline: March 5, 2024
Eligibility: State, local, and Tribal governments, higher education institutes, businesses, non-profit organizations, school districts, and individuals
DOE: NEW SOLVE IT PRIZE TO SUPPORT INNOVATIVE LOCAL CLEAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS
DOE announced its intent to launch the Solutions for Lasting, Viable Energy Infrastructure Technologies (SOLVE IT) Prize, which will award nearly $5 million to help communities solve their energy challenges. The goal of the competition is to raise community interest in clean energy projects and promote a broader, more equitable uptake of promising new technologies.
Deadline: The first phase of the competition ends in April 2024.
Eligibility: Open to individuals, nonprofits, local government entities, economic development organizations, educational institutions, and other organizations with a history of successful participatory community-based
initiatives.
EPA: COMMUNITY CHANGE EQUITABLE RESILIENCE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
The Community Change Equitable Resilience Technical Assistance program is now live and accepting requests! The assistance will consist of free design and project development support, community engagement, and partnership development workshops. Provided over an approximately four-month window, this TA is intended as pre-award assistance for communities wanting to apply for Community Change Grants, which will help fund climate resilience projects. This technical assistance will be offered to up to 50 recipients nationwide, on a first come first serve basis.
The technical assistance will be for climate resilience projects that could include a focus on new or expanded green infrastructure, open spaces, and/or retrofits of existing community buildings to address climate change impacts such as extreme heat and more intense heat islands, wildfire and smoke, floods, storms, or other climate impacts that pose a greater risk to disadvantaged
communities. These climate resilience projects can also achieve multiple benefits for the environment, economy, and public health. Please see this link for a list of example project types.
Deadline: Fall 2024
Eligibility: Organizations requesting this assistance must show the following: Intent and eligibility to apply for a Community Change Grant. Agreement to host EPA contractors for site
visits; Project location in a disaster-prone area using one or multiple of the following tools: FEMA’s Community Disaster Resilience Zones (CRDZ); or Climate Mapping for Resilience, Adaptation (CMRA) or Narrative about additional disaster risk and climate hazards, which EPA will confirm using NOAA's Hazard Mapping System Fire and Smoke Product, CDC's Heat and Health Tracker, and EPA’s EJScreen, Air Now, and Climate Change Indicators; Site description, ownership status, environmental and land use information (if available). Potential resilience benefits for disadvantaged community. Engagement with partners and community members.
EPA: ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE JUSTICE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT (IRA) COMMUNITY CHANGE GRANTS PROGRAM
This IRA grant program will invest in environmental and climate justice activities to benefit disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to respond to environmental and climate justice challenges. This funding opportunity is under development and expected to be released in autumn 2023.
Deadline: November 21, 2024
Eligibility: Federally-recognized Tribes, local governments, higher education institutes, community-based non-profit organizations
DOE: ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE REINVESTMENT (EIR) SECTION 1706 PROGRAM
EIR offers financing to support projects that retool, repower, repurpose, or replace energy infrastructure that has ceased operations or that enable operating energy infrastructure to
avoid, reduce, utilize, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases.
Deadline: Ongoing
Eligibility: Projects that reinvest in energy infrastructure throughout the United States, including in DOE-designated energy communities.
COMING SOON – DOE: RESEARCH FUNDING FOR WASTE-TO-ENERGY COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS
This funding is expected soon and will support communities' development of in-depth feasibility analyses of potential waste-to-fuels solutions and support communities with completed
feasibility studies to advance detailed engineering designs.
Deadline: To be determined
Eligibility: State, local, and tribal governments, non-profit organizations, and transit authorities
COMING SOON – NOAA: CLIMATE-SMART COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE
This program will work with communities to co-develop equitable climate resilience plans that are ready for funding and implementation. The priority will be to assist communities that are at the highest risk to climate impacts and have the most need for assistance.
Deadline: To be determined
Eligibility: Partnerships
across four domains—government, academic, commercial, and non-profit organizations
Grant Writing and Application Resources:
One Last Note:
NCTCOG Staff Contacts:
