Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other state and federal 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.
Special Edition Newsletter
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In April 2023 the Minnesota State Legislature passed an Energy and Environment Omnibus Bill which, in part, created the State Competitiveness Fund - Match Program. Chapter 24, Sec. 1 of the legislation states:?
?The legislature finds that increasing the competitiveness of Minnesota is critically important to ensuring the state's economy is strong and growing. Increasing competitiveness can be accomplished by improving productivity, improving competition, and improving investments.?
The State Competitiveness Fund (SCF) Match Program will allow eligible entities, including Tribal Governments, to compete for federal funds by providing a cost-share match. This fund applies only to federal funding awards made under the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA, aka the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The Minnesota State Legislature allocated a total of $100 million for Commerce to award grant funding to eligible Minnesota entities and projects to enhance the likelihood of these entities receiving federal funding awards under the IIJA and IRA programs. The legislation stipulates:
- No single entity may receive grants totaling more than $15 million; and,
- At least $75 million of the fund must be allocated for grant awards of less than $1 million.
Application Rounds
The SCF Match Program Request for Proposals includes two concurrent application periods.??
Quick Response Round
As numerous IIJA and IRA grant funding opportunities have already taken place, the first application period is a Quick Response round for applicants who have already submitted a federal funding proposal.
Issue Date: October 26, 2023 |Proposal Deadline: November 27, 2023
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Standard Response Round?
The second application round is the Standard Response round for applicants who have not yet submitted a federal funding proposal.?
Issue Date:?October 26, 2023| Proposal Deadline: January 15, 2024
Please see the RFP for more details on question-and-answer periods, important dates for each round and other requirements.
A Request for Proposals (RFP) is available for download on the Department?s RFP website at Request for Proposals (RFP) / Minnesota Department of Commerce - Business (mn.gov).
The application for SCF1 Cost-share coverage is an electronic application; all responses to this RFP need to be submitted through a single responder user account via the grant portal.? The application has 20 questions, primarily yes/no, or multiple-choice; responders should be prepared to provide information on the federal funding application they have made or intend to make.
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