energy specific funding opportunties




Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other federal and state funding announcements

The *Minnesota Department of Commerce *seeks to work with and facilitate connections with local and Tribal governments, utilities, businesses, communities and other entities interested in energy-related partnerships. The opportunities outlined below are funded by the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other state and federal programs.

*To facilitate a quick review of this newsletter, the subject matter of included items is previewed here; full details can be found in the body of the newsletter.*

*Announcements*


* Seeking Partners for EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF)?Solar For All
* Seeking Board Members for the Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority
* Seeking Candidates for Open Energy Transition Advisory Committee Positions
* New Commerce Website for State Funding Opportunities for Energy Projects

Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA), Administrative and Legal Requirements Document (ALRD), Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), Requests for Applications (RFA) [ #FOA1 ]


* DOE Awards for Submitted Applications:
* 40511 Resilient and Efficient Codes
* 40101d Grid Resilience Formula Grants for States and Tribes

* IRA 60103 EPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) Funding Opportunities
* National Clean Investment Fund (NCEF)
* Clean Communities Investment?Accelerator (CCIA)

* Other Local Funding for Community Based Organizations and Community Members
* Great Plains Institute Electric Vehicle Education for All initiative
* Community Owned Solar Leadership Training

Webinars [ #webinars ]


* EPA EJScreen Tool Training Webinar

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*ANNOUNCEMENTS
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* *Seeking Partners for EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF)?**Solar For All:*

The Minnesota Department of Commerce will be leading a statewide proposal for the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reduction funds Solar for All program [ [link removed] ]under Award Option 1 of the FOA [ [link removed] ].??Commerce intends to submit an application to scale low-income solar projects for single family, multi-family, and community solar gardens. We encourage other eligible and interested entities, including tribes, municipalities and eligible nonprofits, to contact Commerce at [email protected]?expressing interest in participating in a collaborative application.? Please include any priorities and ideas for harnessing resources within your community and your key constituents.?

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* *Seeking Board Members for the Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority*

On behalf of Governor Walz, the MN Secretary of State's office is seeking applications from members of the public to serve on the Board of Directors for the newly created Climate Innovation Finance Authority (CIFA).? Details about the responsibilities of the position and a link to the authorizing statute can be found on the web page [ [link removed] ] of the Minnesota Secretary of State.? The Board of Directors for CIFA will consist of 13 Board members, of which seven will represent specific stakeholder groups.

Job postings and application details for the seven open stakeholder positions can be found at each of the links below.?Board member candidates with the following expertise are being sought:


* Member with expertise in sustainable development and energy conservation [ [link removed] ]
* Member with expertise in the impact of climate change on Minnesota communities, particularly low-income communities [ [link removed] ]
* Representative of a labor union with experience working on clean energy projects [ [link removed] ]
* Member representing either a municipal electric utility or a cooperative electric association [ [link removed] ]
* Member with expertise in environmental justice [ [link removed] ]
* Member with expertise in financing projects at a community bank, credit union, community development institution, or local government [ [link removed] ]
* Member with expertise in investment fund management or financing and deploying clean energy technologies [ [link removed] ]

*Application window:* now though September 6, 2023.?Review of applications will begin on July 20, 2023, and continue through the application window.

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* *Seeking Candidates for Open Energy Transition Advisory Committee Positions*

On behalf of the Commissioner of the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), the MN Secretary of State's office is seeking applications from those wishing to serve on the Energy Transition Advisory Committee.? Details about the responsibilities of the positions and a link to the authorizing statute can be found on the web page [ [link removed] ] of the Minnesota Secretary of State.? The advisory committee consists of 18 voting members and eight ex officio nonvoting members.

Job postings and application details for potential committee members to fill positions in the eight open stakeholder groups can be found at each of the links below. The following advisory committee candidates are being sought:


* Prairie Island Indian Community representative [ [link removed] ]
* Professional economic development or workforce retraining experience representative [ [link removed] ]
* Impacted communities representatives [ [link removed] ]
* Impacted workers at impacted facilities [ [link removed] ]
* Impacted worker employed by company under contract [ [link removed] ]
* Coalition of utility cities representative [ [link removed] ]
* Utilities that operate an impacted facility [ [link removed] ]
* Nonprofit organization with expertise and experience delivering energy efficiency and conservation programs [ [link removed] ]

*Application window:* Open now.?Review of applications will begin on July 31, 2023, and continue through the application window.

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* *New Commerce Website for State Funding Opportunities for Energy Projects*

Funding for energy related projects is now being shared online by the Division of Energy Resources at the Minnesota Department of Commerce.?

The?*New Energy Progra**ms* page joins with the existing Federal Funding opportunities?page [ [link removed] ] to provide additional insight for Minnesotans on new state funding opportunities around energy opportunities and programs. ?Details on the new rebates, grants and other programs will be added to the site as the programs are developed by Commerce to make those funds accessible to all Minnesotans.?

Bookmark this new page for future reference:?*New Energy Programs / Minnesota Department of Commerce - Energy (mn.gov) [ [link removed] ]*, and please plan to check back frequently for other updates. Updates are currently included for the EV Rebate Program [ [link removed] ]?and Heat Pump Rebate Program [ [link removed] ] (LINK). You can also stay current by signing up for our newsletter by clicking this link [ [link removed] ]. [ [link removed] ]

The legislation authorizing these new programs can be read by clicking on the links below. The table below references the appropriate link for each specific program.


* HF 2310 - Chapter 60 - MN Laws [ [link removed] ]
* SF 3035 - Chapter 53 - MN Laws [ [link removed] ]
* HF 1656 - Chapter 24 - MN Laws [ [link removed] ]
* HF 100 - Chapter 63 - MN Laws [ [link removed] ]
Omnibus v3
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Recent and expected federal funding activity

The federal government issues a variety of announcements related to federal funding opportunities: Requests for Information (RFI), Notices of Intent (NOI) and Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA). More information can be found on the Commerce Federal Funding Opportunities?web page [ [link removed] ] or by clicking the links below.

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*IIJA Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA)*

*DOE Awards for Submitted Applications*

* *IIJA 40511 Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation.?*The DOE Building Technology Office has awarded *$5.3 Million* to the?*Minnesota Advanced Energy Code Partnership* for the *"A Path to Net Zero"* project.??The proposal [ [link removed] ] was submitted by the Center for Energy and the Environment [ [link removed] ] on behalf of the Partnership; partners in the partnership include Commerce [ [link removed] ], Department of Labor and Industry [ [link removed] ], University of Minnesota Center for Sustainable Building Research [ [link removed] ], Xcel Energy [ [link removed] ], Minnesota Power [ [link removed] ], Ottertail Power [ [link removed] ], 2050 Partners [ [link removed] ], NORESCO [ [link removed] ], CADEO Group [ [link removed] ], GARD Analytics [ [link removed] ].?Also involved is the Project Advisory Council, made up of representatives from nine local and tribal governments and twelve representatives from labor, building and multifamily housing organizations, MN DEED [ [link removed] ],? CAPI [ [link removed] ]and energy non-profits.

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* *IIJA 40101d Grid Resiliency?and Reliability Formula Grants.?*The DOE approved Commerce's submission to the 40101 Formula Grants. Commerce is developing a sub-award process and program; sub-award program implementation is expected to begin later in 2023. The formula allocation to MN Commerce was for both Year 1 & 2 funding, with a combined funding of *$11,987,794.*? The draft [ [link removed] ] of Commerce's 40101d plan along with the Q&A document [ [link removed](d)-q-a-a-posting-03-14-2023-final.pdf ] from the Public Hearing on that draft,? can be reviewed on Commerce's Federal Funding Opportunities web page [ [link removed] ].

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*IRA Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA)*

* *60103 EPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (CCRF) National Clean Investment Fund (NCEF)?*
* EPA-R-HQ-NCIF-23 [ [link removed] ]
* *Deadline: *Application: October 12, 2023

The EPA has announced the opening of the application submittal window for $14 billion in funding to provide grants to support two-to-three national clean financing institutions, enabling them to partner with the private sector to provide accessible, affordable financing for tens of thousands of clean technology projects nationwide.

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* *60103 EPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) Clean Communities Investment?Accelerator (CCIA)?*

* EPA-R-HQ-CCIA-23 [ [link removed] ]
* *Deadline: *Application: October 12, 2023

The EPA has announced [ [link removed] ] the opening of the application submittal window for $6 billion in funding to provide grants to support two-to-seven hub nonprofit organizations, enabling them to provide funding and technical assistance to public, quasi-public, not-for-profit, and non-profit community lenders working in low-income and disadvantaged communities?supporting the goal that every community in the country has access to the capital they need to deploy clean technology projects.

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*Other Local Funding Opportunity for Community-Based Organizations and Community Members*

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*Great Plains Institute Electric Vehicle Education for All initiative*


*

The Great Plains Institute and its Transportation & Fuels team is seeking proposals to conduct community engagement about electric mobility for the Electric Vehicle Education for All initiative.??Selected organizations will receive up to $15,000 each to co-create an engagement plan with GPI staff, who will provide additional resources and technical assistance. GPI primary focus for engagement is with renters, people of color, low-income communities, people with limited access to transportation, people with physical disabilities, and communities that experience heavy air pollution. Project implementation will begin October 2023 and run through 2024; more information?can be found?on?GPI?s web site [ [link removed] ].







* *Community Owned Solar Leadership Training*
* The People's Solar Energy Fund (PSEF) and Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) are currently accepting applications for the Movement for Solar Capacity and Leadership (?MSCL?) program, which provides free training in one of society?s most important and rapidly growing fields - solar development. The program enables meaningful engagement with other highly-motivated solar learners to cross-pollinate ideas and strategies, and is a vehicle to connect with national partners.??The program has two core components:?
* Free solar training through an online university program.*?
* A small intimate learning community/cohort with additional opportunities to learn and connect.?
* More specifically, the MSCL program involves:
* education and training regarding solar energy, and particularly "community solar" focused on serving LMI (low and moderate income) communities;
* Learning about the new federal climate programs offering millions of dollars to LMI and communities of color;
* Building community with a select group of other trainees;?
* An "each-one teach-one" approach with participants having the opportunity to give back by relaying their education and training to their community-based organization;
* Connecting with national partners engaged in promoting climate, racial and economic justice.

*Applications due: July 27, 2023.? More information can be found on the People's Solar Energy Fund web page [ [link removed] ].*

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For energy-specific funding opportunities, Commerce is here for you!

The *Minnesota Department of Commerce *seeks to work with and facilitate connections with local and Tribal governments, utilities, businesses, communities, and other entities interested in energy-related partnerships.?These opportunities are funded by the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Minnesota Energy and Environment Omnibus Bill, and other state and federal energy programs.

Interested in partnering with Commerce on funding opportunities or have questions? Stay updated by clicking *subscribe below* and e-mail us [email protected].

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*Minnesota Department of Commerce | Energy Division
*85 7th Place East, Suite?280 | St. Paul, MN 55101*
*Email: [email protected]
Local: 651-539-1886 |?Greater MN: 1-800-657-3710

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