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March 7, 2024
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.
Announcements: Department of Commerce Energy Programs
Notice of Request for Information: Home Energy Rebate Program Design
Deadline: April 1, 2024
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) invests $500 billion in the clean energy economy through programs to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions. The IRA includes two Home Energy Rebate programs which will help American households save money on energy bills, upgrade to clean energy, improve energy efficiency, and reduce indoor and outdoor air pollution. The Minnesota Department of Commerce is responsible for designing and administering Minnesota’s Home Energy Rebate programs and is committed to ensuring access to low-and moderate-income households. The two Home Energy Rebate programs are:
- Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate (HEAR), referred to as the appliance rebate program.
- Home Efficiency Rebates (HOMES), referred to as the efficiency rebates.
The US Department of Energy invited the Minnesota Department of Commerce to rapidly accelerate its HEAR Application. This may allow the state to launch rebates earlier than originally planned.
Commerce expects to submit an initial application to Department of Energy on March 22nd. Program details will be developed in a set of plans called the “Implementation Blueprint”, due after the initial application. There will be additional opportunities for public feedback and more comprehensive stakeholder engagement after submission of the initial HEAR Application, as we prepare for the HEAR Implementation Blueprint. Federal guidance allows states some flexibility in program design to reflect the state’s priorities. We invite community partners, contractors, technical experts, retailers, and the public to provide input to inform the rebate programs’ design.
This RFI is for information gathering purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation or obligation on the part of Minnesota Department of Commerce to provide funding. All comments received, including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Respondents should only submit information they wish to make publicly available and should not enclose any information considered confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure.
Input received by April 1, 2024 will be considered for the HEAR Implementation Blueprint as well as the HOMES Application and HOMES Implementation Blueprint.
Submit written feedback on this form
Additional opportunities for public feedback and more comprehensive stakeholder engagement opportunities will be available after Commerce submits the initial HEAR Application and is developing the HEAR Implementation Blueprint.
MnCIFA Request for Information - Due March 15
The Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority (MnCIFA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) from clean energy project developers, asset owners, financial institutions and other relevant parties to:
- Inform the design of financial products and programs housed within MnCIFA. Products could include warehousing and aggregation credit facilities; credit enhancements; pre-development and construction financing; and term loans and investments, amongst other structures.
- Solicit initial feedback on the potential use of state funds from a State Energy Financing Institution (SEFI) to implement the goals of MnCIFA while leveraging federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO). Specifically, MnCIFA seeks initial input to inform how to best leverage the DOE LPO SEFI-supported category of the Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program. Through this program category, LPO can augment state-administered clean energy programs providing additional financial support to projects that align federal energy priorities with those of states like Minnesota.
Responses to the RFI will inform the work of Commerce as the strategic plan and long-term investment strategies are developed. In particular, MnCIFA is looking to support projects in Minnesota that have financial needs that cannot be fully met by existing financial tools available on the private market.
Based on state law, MnCIFA must ensure that at least 40 percent of the direct benefits of authority activities flow to environmental justice communities. This RFI seeks feedback on clean energy initiatives, especially those with an emphasis on benefitting environmental justice communities, and that can leverage private, philanthropic or other sources of financial support. Partnerships will greatly enhance the impact of MnCIFA.
Responses must be submitted by no later than Friday, March 15 at 5 p.m. CST. Proposals must be submitted to [email protected]. Instructions for submission content are detailed in the RFI at the link shared above.
This RFI is for information gathering purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation or obligation on the part of MnCIFA to provide funding. All comments received, including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Respondents should only submit information that they wish to make publicly available and should not enclose any information considered confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure.
MnCIFA Board Meeting Notice - March 20 Meeting
The next meeting of the Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority (MnCIFA) board will occur on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 from 9:30am - 12:00pm CT.
The meeting will be held in person at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 520 Lafayette Road North, Saint Paul, MN 55155, conference room 600. Drivers, please park in the visitor area and be sure to bring your license plate number in with you for registration. Please email Pete Klein at [email protected] to attend in person.
A virtual attendance option is also available. To attend remotely, please register here. You will receive a link to join the meeting.
The mission of MnCIFA, a publicly accountable financing authority commonly known in other states as a “green bank,” will be to accelerate the adoption of proven clean energy technologies and greenhouse gas reduction projects, to expand access to untapped markets and to bring benefits to historically underserved communities. Additional information can be found on the MnCIFA webpage maintained by the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
Energy-related Funding Awards to Minnesota Entities
Read on to learn more about the most recent innovative Minnesota energy projects (listed by Funding Opportunity Program), and the funding they have been awarded. Congratulations to the recipients!
DOE Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas - Awards
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Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, Minnesota and six other communities will share $45,280,000 for the project: Microgrids for Community Affordability, Resilience, and Energy Decarbonization. The project, led by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, will create a consortium of rural electric cooperatives and deploy microgrids (solar PV, battery storage system with distribution) across seven rural communities in California, North Carolina, Minnesota, Arizona, Tennessee, and Montana.
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 energy Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA). More information can be found on the Commerce Federal Funding Opportunities web page or by clicking the links below.
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.
Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA), Administrative and Legal Requirements Document (ALRD), Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), Requests for Applications (RFA)
- Green and Resilient Retrofit Program
- Inflation Reduction Act Funding for Advanced Biofuels
- Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) – Second Notice
- Capacity Building for Repurposing Energy Assets – Expanded
- Local Government Energy program: Communities Sparking Investment in Transformative Energy
- Carbon Management
- Clean Ports Program: Zero-Emission Technology Deployment Competition
- Clean Ports Program: Climate and Air Quality Planning Competition
- Grant Funding to Address Indoor Air Pollution at Schools
- Flexible and Innovative Transformer Technologies
Request for Proposals (RFP)
- 2024 Distributed Wind Turbine Competitiveness Improvement Project
Notice of Intent
- Concentrating Solar Flux to Heat and Power
Request for Information (RFI)
- Opportunities to Support Mid-Scale Commercial Direct Air Capture Demonstration Facilities
Tribal Governments Funding Opportunities (FOA)
- Clean Energy Technology Deployment on Tribal Lands - 2024
Prizes/Awards
- SOLVE IT Prize
- Building Envelope Innovation Prize
Student Scholarships/Competitions/Fellowships
- Office of Indian Energy College Student Internship
Webinars
- GETting the Most Out of Existing and New Infrastructure via Advanced Transmission Technologies
- National Distributed Wind Network
Workshops, Meetings, Conferences
- Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit
- Clean Fuels & Product ShotTM Summit
- Bioenergy Research and Education Bridges (BRIDGES) Professional Development Instructor Workshop
Publications/Videos/Webpages
- Impacts of Non-residential Solar on Residential Adoption Decisions
- The Role of Peer Influence in Rooftop Solar Adoption Inequity in the United States
- Distributed Wind Energy Resource Hub
- Small Wind Guidebook
- Tribal Nations and Native Communities Resource Guide
- IRA Tax Credit Resource Hub
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IRA Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA)
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Green and Resilient Retrofit Program – IRA 30002
- FR-6700-N-91B
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Deadline: The Elements Wave 3 deadline has been extended to March 28, 2024
HUD’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) provides direct loans and grants to fund projects that improve energy, water efficiency, or climate resilience of affordable housing. The Elements NOFO provides awards to eligible properties pursuing a recapitalization but not yet closed on financing, and which offer an opportunity for targeted upgrades to specific building components via climate resilience and carbon reduction measures. These awards, provided in the form of GRRP Grants or Surplus Cash Loans, will allow owners to include climate resilience, energy efficiency, and emission reduction measures in their construction scopes of work.
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Inflation Reduction Act Funding for Advanced Biofuels – 60108(b)
- DE-FOA-0003178
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Deadlines: Concept Paper: March 22, 2024 | Application: May 24, 2024
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Webinar: March 4, 2024 | 2:00 PM CT | Register
DOE’s Bioenergy Technology Office (BETO) is utilizing $9.4 million in funding provided by the EPA Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) Program to implement advanced biofuels investments under IRA Section 60108(b).
Potential applicants are advised to read the FOA carefully. The EPA's RFS program administers biofuel requirements for current commercial-scale activities, while BETO supports research in next-generation activities. To evaluate the lifecycle impact of a commercial-scale refinery, EPA's RFS program defines a fuel pathway as a specific combination of (1) feedstock, (2) production process, and (3) fuel type. This FOA is intended to support EPA's RFS program and is different in allowable feedstocks and allowable primary fuels, among other things, compared to other recent BETO FOAs.
Topic Areas for this FOA include: 1) Pre-Pilot Scale-Up of Integrated Biorefinery Technologies; and 2) Biointermediate Processing Toolbox. The cost share must be at least 20% of the project costs.
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Rural and Agricultural Income & Savings from Renewable Energy (RAISE) initiative
DOE and the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service have jointly opened the RAISE funding program as part of the IRA funding initiatives added to the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) program. The goal is to help 400 individual farmers deploy smaller-scale wind projects by providing $144 million in grant funding to support projects using under-utilized technologies, which also include small-scale hydropower, geothermal, biomass-based and other clean energy projects.
In Fiscal Year 2023, the USDA’s Rural Development office awarded $11 million in REAP grant funds to energy efficiency and renewable energy projects undertaken by small rural businesses and agricultural producers in Minnesota, along with a $100,000 Rural Development grant to the University of Minnesota to support rural energy audits and renewable energy project development. In Fiscal Year 2022, Minnesota entities had been awarded $3.45 million in REAP grant funds for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
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Clean Ports Program: Zero-Emission Technology Deployment Competition – IRA 60102
- EPA-R-OAR-CPP-24-04
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Deadlines: Optional Notice of Intent to Apply: March 28, 2024 |Application: May 28, 2024
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Webinar: March 13, 2024 | 1:00 PM CT | Register
EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality is issuing this NOFO to solicit applications from eligible entities to help ports transition to zero-emission operations under the EPA’s Clean Ports Program. The EPA’s Clean Ports Program will fund ZE port equipment and infrastructure. A separate Clean Ports Program NOFO will fund climate and air quality planning activities as part of a separate NOFO (recapped below) – including emissions inventories, strategy analysis, community engagement, and resiliency measure identification – to build the capacity of port stakeholders to continue to reduce pollution and transition to ZE operations over time. Applicants are encouraged to apply to both Clean Ports Program grant competitions.
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Clean Ports Program: Climate and Air Quality Planning Competition – IRA 60102
EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) is announcing the availability of funds to conduct climate and air quality planning activities under the Clean Ports Program. The Program will fund climate and air quality planning activities at United States ports – including emissions inventories, strategy analysis, community engagement, and resiliency measure identification – that will build the capacity of port stakeholders to continue to reduce pollution and transition to zero-emissions (ZE) operations over time. EPA anticipates awarding up to $150 million for 50 to 70 competitive grants, with awards ranging between $200,000 to $300,000, and which require no cost share. All applicants are required to include one or more emissions inventory and accounting exercises as part of the project. Applicants are encouraged to apply to both Clean Ports Program grant competitions.
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Grant Funding to Address Indoor Air Pollution at Schools – IRA 60106(a)
This EPA NOFO will provide ~ $32 million in funding for low-income, disadvantaged, and Tribal K-12 schools to create indoor air quality (IAQ) management plans to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and indoor air pollutants. The IAQ plans will need to be consistent with EPA’s IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit and Framework, Energy Savings Plus Health Guidance, Preventive Maintenance Guidance, and other EPA recommended IAQ best practices.
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Other Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA)
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Capacity Building for Repurposing Energy Assets – Expanded
The DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) has announced up to $2.7 million in funding to help local communities designated as energy communities, or communities that have been supported by coal, oil, and/or natural gas power facilities. Funding is to assist communities and their partners (see below) in the creation of a roadmap towards repurposing energy facilities that have been or are slated for retirement between 2009 - 2033. In particular, the objective of this effort is to directly support an embedded work stream supported by a staffer whose primary responsibility is coordination and planning, with a particular emphasis on workforce development oriented around productively and sustainably repurposing such assets, their sites and associated infrastructure. Eligible partner entities included in this FOA:
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- Community Colleges, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions, and other educational entities recognized by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights;
- Local economic development entities;
- Community based organizations and non-governmental organizations;
- Local elected officials from municipalities (e.g. mayors’ offices);
- Labor unions and labor-management organizations;
- Organizations that represent workers in energy communities; and
- Workforce development entities involved in administering the public workforce system.
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Local Government Energy Program: Communities Sparking Investment in Transformative Energy
DOE’s Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) has launched a new program with $18 million in funding for Local Government Energy Program (LGEP). Local governments and federally recognized Indian Tribes are invited to apply for municipal or Tribal clean energy projects in disadvantaged communities, energy communities, small and medium-sized jurisdictions, and Tribal Communities. All funded projects will be Transformative Project Implementation using various technologies, meet community identified priorities, and spark additional non-federal investments. The required cost share is 5%.
DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) has opened Round 5 with an additional $30 million for the Carbon Management program. Sub-topics of interest within the Carbon Conversion Technology Area of Interest are added for this Round:
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AOI-1C. Non-Photosynthetic Biological Conversion of CO₂: focus on R&D to enable a subset of biological CO2 conversion routes that rely on novel, clean energy sources for carbon reduction.
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AOI-1D Conversion of CO₂ to Plastics: focus on R&D of technologies that can economically convert anthropogenic CO2 into plastics, either thermosetting or thermoplastic, in the form of pellets, foams, fibers, or filaments.
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AOI-1E Conversion of CO₂ to Solid Carbon Products: focus on R&D of technologies that can economically convert anthropogenic CO2 into carbon products, either amorphous, turbostratic, or graphitic; processes funded by must yield a carbon product with a market value sufficient to offset conversion costs.
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AOI-3E Carbon Capture R&D for Electric Generation and Industrial Point Sources: Development of Enabling Technologies: focus on R&D of technologies that support the scale-up and the subsequent demonstration of carbon capture technologies at coal and natural gas electric generation, and industrial facilities.
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Flexible and Innovative Transformer Technologies
DOE’s Offices of Electricity and Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response released a FOA with $18 million in funding for project proposals that stimulate innovative designs, prototypes, and field demonstration exercises for advanced distribution and/or power transformers (e.g., flexible, modular, scalable, hybrid, and solid-state transformers) which can be utilized across a range of distribution to transmission scale applications. There are two Areas of Interest: 1) RD&D for Distribution Transformers, and 2) RD&D for Power Transformers.
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Request for Proposals (RFP)
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2024 Distributed Wind Turbine Competitiveness Improvement Project
- RFx-2024-10185
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Deadline: March 27, 2024 | Technical Questions: March 7, 2024
DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is requesting proposals under 6 Topic Areas in the 2024 Distributed Wind Turbine Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP), with individual awards expected to be $100,000-$800,000. Submissions to more than one topic are permitted, but proposals that combine topic areas are not eligible. The Manufacturing Process Innovation topic area requires a 50% match; all other topic areas require a 20% cost-share.
Topic Areas of Interest:
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- Prototype Installation and Testing
- Small Turbine Certification and/or Listing
- Inverter Listing
- Type Certification and Listing
- Manufacturing Process Innovation
- Product Commercialization and Market Development
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Notice of Intent (NOI)
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Concentrating Solar Flux to Heat and Power
DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue this FOA (in or about March, 2024), on behalf of the DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), to support research, development, and demonstration projects in three topic areas:
Topic Area 1: Scalable Concentrating Solar Collectors
Topic Area 2: Scalable Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Turbomachinery
Topic Area 3: Scalable Concentrating Solar-thermal Receivers and Reactors
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Request for Information (RFI)
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Opportunities to Support Mid-Scale Commercial Direct Air Capture Demonstration Facilities
DOE’s Office of Clean Energy (CE) requests public input to understand how any federal funding for direct air capture (DAC) facilities may be most effective in complementing existing DOE DAC programs and in accelerating the DAC industry’s commercial scale-up. Input is also sought on the potential impacts to local communities, including disadvantaged communities.
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Tribal Governments Funding Opportunities (FOA)
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Clean Energy Technology Deployment on Tribal Lands – 2024
DOE’s Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs has issued a FOA with $25 million in funding to accelerate clean energy deployment on Tribal Lands, with a required cost-share of 10-20%. All proposed projects submitted to the program must have: 1) Completed energy studies and analyses (comprehensive feasibility study and/or energy audit(s) or industrial energy assessment(s)), and 2) Completed development (pre-construction) activities, and design and engineering (except final design and engineering). Only final design and engineering activities directly resulting in the installation of clean energy technology or infrastructure, or verification of the actual energy generated, displaced, or saved (amount, cost, and percentage) are allowable activities under this FOA. The four Topic Areas of Interest in this opportunity are:
Topic Area 1: Clean Energy Generating System(s) and/or Energy Efficiency Measure(s) for Tribal Building(s)
Subtopic Area 1.a: Clean Energy Generating Systems
Subtopic Area 1.b: Energy Efficiency Measure(s)
Subtopic Area 1.c: Clean Energy Generating System(s) and Energy Efficiency Measure(s)
Topic Area 2: Community-Scale Clean Energy Generating System(s) or Energy Storage Deployment
Subtopic Area 2.a: Community-Scale Clean Energy Generating System(s)
Subtopic Area 2.b: Community-Scale Energy Storage
Topic Area 3: Integrated Energy System(s) for Autonomous Operation
Subtopic Area 3.a: Powering Essential Tribal Building(s)
Subtopic Area 3.b: Tribal Community Resilience
Topic Area 4: Powering Unelectrified Tribal Buildings
Subtopic Area 4.a: Integrated Energy System(s) for Electrification
Subtopic Area 4.b: Energy Infrastructure for Electrification
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Prizes/Awards
The DOE’s Solutions for Lasting, Viable Energy Infrastructure Technologies (SOLVE IT) Prize empowers communities to find and apply clean energy solutions in ways that fit well with a community’s needs. Prize competitors work with communities through three phases to develop clean energy projects that address local challenges. Approximately 25 winners will receive $80,000 each in cash prizes in Phase 1 and be able to compete for $150,000 and $500,000 each in subsequent phases. The competition is open to individuals or entities that work collaboratively with communities including nonprofits, consortia, academic institutions, labor unions, nongovernmental organizations, and others.
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Building Envelope Innovation Prize
Sponsored by DOE’s Energy Building Technologies Office, this Prize encourages production of high-performance, cost-effective secondary glazing systems to improve efficiency of commercial windows. The Building Envelope Innovation Prize offers a total prize pool of up to $2 million across three increasingly competitive phases where each phase concludes with a prize award. The competition is open only to private entities (for-profits and nonprofits), non-federal government entities such as states, counties, tribes, and municipalities, academic institutions, and individuals.
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Scholarships/Student Competitions/Fellowships
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Office of Indian Energy College Student Internship
The DOE Office of Indian Energy, along with the Sandia National Laboratories, is offering a paid internship for full-time undergraduate and graduate students familiar with Native American culture and Tribal issues. The two summer 2024 internship positions include: Photovoltaics and Materials Tech – R&D for undergraduate and graduate students.
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Webinars
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GETting the Most Out of Existing and New Infrastructure via Advanced Transmission Technologies
This World Resource Institute webinar will present information on advanced transmission solutions, including grid-enhanced technologies (GET) and high-performance conductors.
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National Distributed Wind Network
This is the first of a series of webinars hosted by the USDA and DOE to inform famers, rural electric cooperatives, farm associations, and small-scale distributed wind providers on development of wind energy projects.
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Workshops/Meetings/Conferences
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Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit
The DOE’s Better Building, Better Plants Summit provides opportunities for professionals to explore emerging technologies and share innovative strategies in energy efficiency, decarbonization, water and waste reduction.
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Clean Fuels & Product ShotTM Summit
This DOE Summit will be held virtually with a focus on how Clean Fuels & Product Shot aims to lower carbon emissions from the fuels and chemicals industry. The Clean Fuels & Product Shot aims to lower carbon emissions from the fuels and chemicals industry by targeting a minimum reduction of 85% in greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil-based sources by 2035.
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Bioenergy Research and Education Bridges (BRIDGES) FREE Professional Development Instructor Workshop
DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office invites educators to attend this free workshop focused on research in bioenergy. Participants will engage in case study-based bioenergy curriculum (BRIDGES), which can then be incorporated into college classrooms.
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Publications/Videos/Webpages
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The Role of Peer Influence in Rooftop Solar Adoption Inequity in the United States
This Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report discusses “peer effects” and how demand for rooftop solar can be influenced by others within defined peer groups. The study results suggest that low-income peer effects have less influence among low-income households.
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Impacts of Non-residential Solar on Residential Adoption Decisions
The DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has released a report highlighting the influence of both residential and non-residential solar installations on nearby residential solar adoption rates.
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Distributed Wind Energy Resource Hub
DOE’s Distributed Wind Energy Resource Hub provides general distributed wind information, project funding opportunities, technical assistance options, models, tools and toolkits and publication information.
The Small Wind Guidebook helps homeowners, ranchers, and small business owners decide if wind energy will work for them.
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Tribal Nations and Native Communities Resource Guide
Tribal governments and nongovernmental partners can navigate, access, and utilize funding opportunities with this DOE resource guide.
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IRA Tax Credit Resource Hub
This website helps homeowners, small businesses and vehicle buyers learn which IRA tax credits are available.
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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. The opportunities outlined here are funded by the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and other federal and state energy programs. Interested in partnering with Commerce on funding opportunities or have questions? Stay updated by clicking subscribe below and e-mail us at [email protected].
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