July 2, 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.

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 all the recipients!

Clean Energy to Communities Peer-learning Cohorts

The DOE announced new leaders from the Clean Energy to Communities program’s peer-learning cohorts. These leaders come from 45 entities, including local governments, tribes, and utilities, and will spend July to December 2024 convening and exchanging strategies and best practices with each other and the DOE national labs on climate and resiliency efforts.

• West Central Initiative, Fergus Falls – Designing and Enhancing Energy Efficiency Programs for Residential Buildings

Fifteen Finalist Teams Announced for AlgaePrize 2023-2025 Competition

The DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office announced 15 student teams advancing as finalists in the AlgaePrize 2023-2025 competition. The AlgaePrize is a national competition that encourages students to pursue innovative ideas for the development, design, and invention of technologies within the commercial algae value chain. Each finalist team receives $10,000 to conduct their proposed research. Teams will then present their project results to judges during the AlgaePrize Competition Weekend, April 11–13, 2025, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.

• Blake School/Team Green Skies, Minneapolis - Applying machine-learning techniques to analyze land suitability, water stress, and economic factors to identify the best sites for Midwest microalgae growth to produce sustainable aviation fuel.

Workforce Development Opportunities in Energy Communities

The DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management has provided $1.4 million in funding to 14 organizations and universities across the U.S. that will each create a roadmap for repurposing existing energy facilities and infrastructure. Selected projects will help build technical capacity and develop a workforce associated with energy facilities that have been or will be retired.

• Itasca Economic Development Corporation - Grand Rapids - Will receive $100,000 to develop a strategic action plan to retire the last two of four units at the Boswell Energy Center in Cohasset, Minnesota.

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)

• Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Enhanced Geothermal Systems Pilot Demonstrations
• IRA – Methane Emission Reduction Program Oil and Gas Methane Monitoring and Mitigation
• USDA Housing Preservation Grant
• Geothermal Resources’ Value in Implementing Decarbonization
• Technology Commercialization Fund Open Voucher Call
• Water Power Innovation Network
• Voucher Opportunity 6: Hydropower Testing Network (Providers)

Notice of Intent

• Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor Pathway to Deployment Program
• Innovations in Floating Offshore Wind Technology

Request for Information (RFI)

• DOE’s Environmental Justice Strategic Plan

Guidance on IRA Tax Credit Programs

• Notice 2024-49 for Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit
• Final Rules on Prevailing Wage and Registered Apprenticeship

Prizes/Awards

• Framing the Future: Industrial Technologies Photo Contest
• American-Made Solar Prize Round 8

Student Scholarships/Competitions/Fellowships

• 2024 Geothermal Collegiate Competition
• Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy Fellows
• Science, Technology, and Policy Fellowships

Webinars

• Partnerships and Accelerators: Community Solar Opportunities for Nonprofits
• Inclusive Energy Codes: Bridging the Gap to Achieve Equity and Environmental Justice  
• Refrigerants and Codes: Understanding the Impact of Refrigerants Requirements on Building Codes and Standards on the Path to Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• What’s in the Latest Residential Model Energy Code: Preparing for the 2024 IECC
• Beyond Zero Energy: Balancing Embodied Carbon and Operational Energy Solutions to Achieve Zero Emission Buildings

Publications/Videos/Webpages

• Federal Funding Guide for Local Governments
• Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy by 2050: A Buildings Blueprint
• Power Profiler

IIJA Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA)

• Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (41007 a) - Enhanced Geothermal Systems Pilot Demonstrations
  • DE-FOA-0002826
  • Deadline: Letter of Intent: July 18, 2024 | Application: September 25, 2024

The DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office has opened a second-round funding opportunity for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) for Topic Area 4 only: demonstrating EGS at a well-characterized site in the eastern United States with potential for near-term electricity or thermal power production.  The objectives of Topic Area 4 include targeting low permeability, high temperature geothermal anomalies in the Eastern U.S. with the potential for generation of electrical and/or thermal power production. Pilot demos will be required to utilize innovative stimulation or completion techniques and technologies to continue to hone understanding of what is required, especially with respect to stimulation technology/methodologies, to demonstrate the viability of EGS in the terrains of the Eastern U.S.

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IRA Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA)

• IRA (S. 60113) – Methane Emission Reduction Program Oil and Gas Methane Monitoring and Mitigation
  • DE-FOA-0003256
  • Deadline: August 26, 2024

The DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory on behalf of Environmental Protection Agency are providing $850 million in funds for the purpose of mitigating methane emissions from marginal conventional wells (MCWs) and other oil and natural gas assets; accelerating the commercialization, scale-up and application of innovative methane emissions reduction technologies; and advancing the characterization and reduction of methane emissions through multi-scale, measurement-informed data collection and analysis. There are three Areas of Interest:

Area of Interest 1: Methane Emissions Reduction from Existing Wells and Infrastructure

Area of Interest 2: Accelerating Deployment of Methane Emissions Reduction Solutions

Area of Interest 3: Accelerating Deployment of Methane Emissions Monitoring Solutions

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Other Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA)

• USDA Housing Preservation Grant
  • RHS-24-SFH-0009
  • Deadline: July 29, 2024

The USDA Rural Development Housing Preservation Grant Program provides funds to qualified organizations to repair or rehabilitate housing occupied by very low and low-income families in rural areas and towns with 20,000 or fewer people (check eligible addresses). States, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and federally recognized Tribes are eligible to apply for these funds. Eligible expenses include repairing or replacing foundations, roofs, insulation, electrical wiring, heating systems, and water and waste disposal systems disposal systems. A complete list of eligible expenses can be found in the Federal Register link above.

• Geothermal Resources’ Value in Implementing Decarbonization (GRID)
  • DE-FOA-0003346
  • Deadlines: Letter of Intent: July 24, 2024 | Application: September 9, 2024

DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office will provide up to $7 million through this FOA to support regional grid modeling studies that quantify the potential contribution of clean, firm geothermal power in supporting an equitable transition to a future decarbonized grid and economy. Eligible entities include institutions of higher education, for profit and non-profit entities, state, local governments, and federally recognized Tribes.

This FOA has one Topic Area: Value of Geothermal Power - Project teams are required to propose grid modeling and/or analysis approaches tailored to their specific grid region of interest examining one or more of the following geothermal power attributes: 1) Firm capacity to support resource adequacy 2) Flexible geothermal power and ancillary services a) to the grid and/or b) to a deferrable load 3) Integrated value of geothermal power with storage technologies 4) Total system impact of geothermal power to cost of grid decarbonization.

• Technology Commercialization Fund Open Voucher Call
  • Information
  • Rules
  • Deadline: October 3, 2024
  • Webinar: July 18, 2024 | 1:00 PM CT | Register

The DOE Office of Technology Transitions and the Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) have developed a new type of funding opportunity that will provide the public with technical assistance from researchers at DOE National Laboratory facilities. Successful applicants will receive vouchers—valid for testing and validation, use of specialized equipment or software, simulation or modeling, consulting, or various other requests from a National Laboratory—which will ultimately allow them to advance their technologies. 

This single-phase open voucher call will award up to 21 teams a voucher of up to $100,000 to be redeemed at one of these eight national laboratories:

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Sandia National Laboratories

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Ames National Laboratory

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Argonne National Laboratory

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

• Water Power Innovation Network
  • DE-FOA-0003323
  • Deadlines: Concept Paper: August 7, 2024 | Application: September 18, 2024
  • Webinar: July 11, 2024 | 12:30 PM CT | Register

DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) is issuing this $4.8 million FOA to expanded water power incubation or accelerator programs to address the commercialization needs of entrepreneurs and small businesses in marine energy and/or hydropower. The FOA has one topic area: Water Power Incubation and Acceleration

The funding opportunity will consist of two phases. In the first phase, WPTO anticipates awarding up to $100,000 each for up to eight projects that are expected to last six to nine months. WPTO will then select up to four of those projects to move onto the second phase. Those projects will be eligible to receive up to $1 million each and are expected to last two to three years.

• Voucher Opportunity 6: Hydropower Testing Network (Providers)
  • Information
  • Webinar: July 9, 2024 |2:00 PM CT | Register

DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office in partnership with ENERGYWERX has launched phase one of the Hydropower Testing Network (HyTN), which aims to raise the technology readiness of hydropower innovations by connecting technology developers to testing facilities and implementing targeted testing activities that lead to the deployment of sustainable hydropower projects.

The Hydropower Testing Network Voucher Opportunity facilitates matchmaking between U.S.-based hydropower technology developers (voucher recipients) and test facilities (voucher providers) with relevant physical testing capabilities. For details on Voucher Provider opportunities go to: Voucher Opportunity 6: Hydropower Testing Network (HyTN) (Providers).

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Notice of Intent (NOI)

• Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor Pathway to Deployment Program
  • DE-FOA-0003392

The DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations in collaboration with the Office of Nuclear Energy intends to issue a solicitation entitled “Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor Pathway to Deployment Program”. DOE intends to offer funding for projects in summer/fall 2024 under this solicitation through two tiers:

Tier 1: First Mover Team Support (up to $800M) – Will provide funding for up to two Gen III+ SMR projects that are reliable, licensable, commercially viable, and have demonstrated a path towards a multi-reactor orderbook.

Tier 2: Fast Follower Deployment Support (up to $100M) - Efforts in this tier will improve the domestic nuclear industry resilience to commercialize their products and achieve nth - of-a-kind pricing for new nuclear deployments. This includes improvements in design, licensing support, supplier development, and site preparation.

• Innovations in Floating Offshore Wind Technology
  • NOWRDC Solicitation 4.0 NOI
  • Full solicitation anticipated August 2024 | Application due date anticipated November 2024

The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC) intends to run a competitive solicitation titled “Solicitation 4.0 - Innovations in Floating Offshore Wind”. This solicitation will fund $10.6 million for projects that address several major areas of need for floating offshore wind, including innovation in ports and vessels, transmission technology, and uncrewed underwater vehicles for environmental monitoring. NOWRDC expects to include the following topic areas in the solicitation to address various technological, environmental, and cost barriers to help accelerate the deployment of floating offshore wind.

Topic Area 1: Innovations in Ports and Vessels to Support Floating Offshore Wind Installation

Topic Area 2: Floating Offshore Wind Transmission Technology Advancement

Topic Area 3: Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles for Environmental Monitoring Around Floating Offshore Wind Infrastructure

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Request for Information (RFI)

• DOE’s Environmental Justice Strategic Plan
  • Federal Register Notice of RFI
  • Deadline: July 31, 2024

The DOE is drafting its Environmental Justice Strategic Plan and soliciting feedback on its draft environmental justice goals. During the development of this Strategic Plan, DOE will conceptualize the unique way in which equity intersects with the energy system and to develop the concept of energy justice. Questions that will help guide input can be obtained through the Federal Register Notice link above.

Comments may be submitted by any of the following means:

Oral Submission: On-line Listening Sessions will be held on:

~ July 9, 2024 | 2:00 PM | Register

~ July 10, 2024 | 10:00 AM CT | Register

~ July 11, 2024 | 4:00 PM CT | Register

Electronic Submission: Deadline: July 31, 2024 by 10:59 PM CT

~ Send to: [email protected] with “DOE EJ Strategic Plan RFI” in the subject line in any of the following unlocked formats: HTML; ASCII; Word; RTF; Unicode, or PDF.

Written Mail: Deadline: July 31, 2024 by 10:59 PM CT

~ Department of Energy, Office of Energy Justice and Equity, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585.

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Guidance on IRA Tax Credit Programs

• Notice 2024-49 for Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit
  • Notice 2024-49

The Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2024-49 on how to register for the Section 45z Clean Fuel Production Credit which provides a tax credit for the domestic production of clean transportation fuels.

Fuel producers must be registered on or before January 1, 2025, to qualify for the § 45Z credit and be eligible to claim the credit for production starting January 1, 2025. The guidance encourages those who may be eligible for the credit to apply for registration as soon as possible.

The Notice provides guidance for registering for two categories of fuel, Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and non-SAF, and provides background on the Clean Fuel Production Credit. View the IRS guidance to learn more about how to register for the credit.

• Final Rules on Prevailing Wage and Registered Apprenticeship
  • Download the Rule
  • IRS Fact Sheet

The Department of Treasury and the IRS released final rules on prevailing wage and registered apprenticeship (PWA) requirements in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA PWA provisions increase the amount of tax credits for clean energy projects fivefold. To be eligible for the increased tax credit, taxpayers (including project developers) claiming the increased tax credit are generally required to pay prevailing wages, employ apprentices, ensure contractors and subcontractors meet requirements, keep records.

Details of the final rules include: 

~ Requiring that determinations of prevailing wage rates be made by the Department of Labor, consistent with the Davis-Bacon Act; 

~ Incentivizing practices that will encourage contemporaneous compliance;

~ Implementing strong recordkeeping requirements;

~ Guaranteeing that taxpayers with projects covered by qualifying project labor agreements do not need to pay penalties; and

~ Clarifying apprenticeship requirements such as clearly defining what constitutes as a request for qualified apprentices, what constitutes as a response, and when the good faith effort exception applies. 

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Prizes/Awards

• Framing the Future: Industrial Technologies Photo Contest
  • Read the Announcement
  • Deadline: November 21, 2024

DOE’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office has launched the Framing the Future: Industrial Technologies Photo Contest, a new prize in search of the best photos of the innovative technologies, processes, and people that will help the United States achieve a decarbonized industrial sector and a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050. A total prize pool of $27,000 will be distributed over six categories:

~ Decarbonizing Emissions-Intensive Industries (with five subcategories)

~ Cross-Sector Decarbonization Technologies 

~ Onsite Energy 

~ Improving Water and Wastewater Treatment 

~ The People and Communities of the Industrial Sector 

~ Creative Interpretation

• American-Made Solar Prize Round 8
  • Information | Rules
  • Deadline: September 26, 2024
  • Webinar: July 9, 2024 | 1:00 PM CT | Register

DOE's American-Made Solar Prize Round 8 is a multimillion-dollar prize competition designed to encourage solar innovation through a series of contests that accelerate the entrepreneurial process from years to months. Competitors have access to the American-Made Network of 400 organizations including experts at DOE’s 17 national labs, clean tech accelerators, incubators, universities, and facilities. Teams have an opportunity to win prizes to help them advance in the competition and accelerate the development of their solution toward commercialization. The Ready!, Set!, and Go! Contests fast-track efforts to identify, develop, and test disruptive solutions to solar industry needs for a total of $3 million in cash prizes and $900,000 in vouchers that can be used at national laboratories and other voucher facilities to develop, test, and validate.  Competitors can be individuals of one or multiple organizations, students, university faculty members, small business owners, researchers, or anyone with the desire and drive to transform an idea into an impactful solution.

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Scholarships/Student Competitions/Fellowships

• 2024 Geothermal Collegiate Competition
  • Information
  • Registration: Opens August 12, 2024 | Closes October 7, 2024
  • Information Webinar: July 23, 2024 | 1:00 PM CT | Register

DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office encourages students to develop innovative solutions for geothermal energy application challenges and build career skills for the clean energy workforce. There are two competition tracks: 

Technical Track teams will perform a resource assessment and design a geothermal heating and cooling system for a community of their choosing. The design can also include other renewable energy technologies and/or storage.

Policy Track teams will present a high-level idea for a geothermal heating and cooling system in a community or campus, focused on an analysis of the regulatory environment, economic assessment, and workforce development analysis. 

Prize amounts:

• 1st place (for each track): $10,000
• 2nd place (for each track): $6,000
• 3rd place (for each track): $2,000

• Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy Fellows
  • Information
  • Deadline: July 12, 2024
  • Contact: [email protected] for more information

Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) is looking for the next generation of early career Ph.D. scientists and engineers to help direct the future of American energy innovation. During their two-year tenure at ARPA-E headquarters in Washington D.C., Fellows conduct independent research and analysis into technological whitespaces, contribute to new program development, and engage with innovators in a variety of fields, including academia, industry, start-ups, and government.

• Science, Technology, and Policy Fellowships
  • Application Information
  • Deadline: July 15, 2024

The DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy offers this Science, Technology and Policy Fellowship to develop future leaders in energy efficiency and renewable energy policy. Candidates with backgrounds including but not limited to physical and natural sciences, social science, engineering, policy, entrepreneurship, community and equity work are encouraged to apply. Candidates will start their Fellowship at the following stipend rates: Bachelor's degree at $65,000; Master's degree at $72,000; Ph.D. at $95,000.

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Webinars

• Partnerships and Accelerators: Community Solar Opportunities for Nonprofits
  • July 9, 2024 | 1:00 PM CT | Register

The DOE’s State and Community Energy Program and Solar Energy Technologies Office present this webinar for nonprofits to learn about community solar opportunities. This will include nonprofit success stories for how to leverage two DOE opportunities:

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.

• Inclusive Energy Codes: Bridging the Gap to Achieve Equity and Environmental Justice  
  • July 18, 2024| 12:00 PM CT | Register

The DOE Building Energy Codes Program is offering a replay of the 2024 National Energy Codes Conference.  Presenters provide insights on crafting energy codes that not only meet technical standards, but also address the needs of underserved communities, empower the workforce, and ensure Justice40 goals are being met. Learn about strategies that provide accessible and inclusive benefits throughout the entire lifecycle of energy codes—from development to enforcement and evaluation.

• Refrigerants and Codes: Understanding the Impact of Refrigerants Requirements on Building Codes and Standards on the Path to Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions
  • August 15, 2024 | 12:00 PM CT | Register

This DOE Building Energy Codes Program webinar will provide an overview of how refrigerants are currently handled in codes and standards, and explore what new changes and approaches could help overcome barriers to adoption of low-GWP refrigerants.

• What’s in the Latest Residential Model Energy Code: Preparing for the 2024 IECC
  • September 19, 2024 | 12:00 PM CT | Register

DOE Building Energy Codes Program will present highlights on the Residential 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), compare the differences with the 2021 IECC-R, and discuss building thermal envelopes, energy credits, and compliance.

• Beyond Zero Energy: Balancing Embodied Carbon and Operational Energy Solutions to Achieve Zero Emission Buildings
  • October 17, 2024 | 12:00 PM CT | Register

DOE Building Energy Codes Program will discuss the difference between operational energy and embodied carbon and explore integrating a lifecycle approach to achieving zero energy and emission buildings during this webinar.

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Publications/Videos/Webpages

• Federal Funding Guide for Local Governments
  • Seeking Federal Funding: A Guide for Local Governments

The Urban Sustainability Directors Network, in partnership with Climate Mayors and C40 Cities has created this resource guide that provides insights, lessons learned, best practices, along with challenges and pitfalls faced by local governments seeking federal funding.

• Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy by 2050: A Buildings Blueprint
  • Download the Report

The DOE led the development of this blueprint for a national strategy for aggressively reducing building greenhouse gas emissions while delivering equity, affordability, and resilience benefits to communities. 

• Power Profiler
  • Visit the Power Profiler

The EPA’s Power Profiler provides information about power sector emissions data by zip code as well as the fuel mix compared to the national mix. The Power Profiler chart compares the average emission rates in pounds per MWh in the selected eGRID subregion to the national average emission rates for carbon dioxide (CO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and nitrogen oxide (NO_X). You can also enter your average monthly kWh electricity use to obtain estimated CO₂, SO₂ and NO_x emitted and make comparisons to the national averages.

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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].