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July 24, 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
Minnesota State Competitiveness Fund Match Program – Round 3
Minnesota Department of Commerce is seeking applications for the Minnesota State Competitiveness Fund, Minn. Stat. § 216C.391, which provides matching funds for eligible entities applying for eligible federal funding opportunities requiring a match.
This legislatively created program is intended to increase the competitiveness of Minnesota in securing federal funding from the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA, aka the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Awards from these federal programs 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 enhance the ability of eligible entities, defined in Minn. Stat. § 216C.391, and Tribal Governments sharing geography within the borders of Minnesota to successfully compete for federal funds by providing matching funds to those entities.
The Minnesota State Legislature allocated $100,000,000 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. Pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 216C.391 Commerce is soliciting proposals from eligible entities applying for federal funding opportunities requiring matching funds, or applying for federal funding opportunities not requiring a match but for which a match would enhance the likelihood of the federal grant being funded. Projects selected for SCF matching funds must demonstrate that the project will help meet the state's clean energy and energy-related climate goals through renewable energy development, energy conservation, efficiency, or energy-related greenhouse gas reduction benefits.
The legislation stipulates:
- No single entity may receive grants totaling more than $15,000,000; and,
- At least $75,000,000 of the fund must be allocated for grant awards of less than $1,000,000.
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!
- Long-Duration Energy Storage Demonstrations Programs (LDES) | Communities Accessing Resilient Energy Storage (CARES)
DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations awarded the LDES CARES project, led by ReJoule, with $1 million in federal funding (of the total federal cost share of up to $10 million) to begin Phase 1 of a demonstration project to repurpose lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles to build modular energy storage systems for behind-the-meter microgrid installations.
Recipient: ReJoule Minnesota Locations: Red Lake Nation, MN
- Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - Industrial Research and Assessment Center Implementation Grant Awards
DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains has awarded 115 small and medium-sized manufacturers across 34 states with up to $300,000 each from the Industrial Research and Assessment Center Implementation Grant to implement DOE recommendations and qualified assessments. A total of 19 additional energy assessment providers have been selected for qualification as “Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) equivalent.”
Minnesota Recipients:
~ Solidify Manufacturing – Rogers, MN - $300,000 federal cost share (round 3) for installation of variable frequency drives, process optimization, and upgrades.
~ City of Le Sueur – MN - $201,500 federal cost share (round 2) for LEDs, process optimization, upgrades.
~ Frontier Energy, Inc. – Chanhassen, MN – awarded as an Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) equivalent energy assessment provider.
DOE has announced that the IAC Implementation Grant FOA is open for additional applications, ensuring manufacturers can continue to apply for grants throughout the next year. The deadline for applications is October 1, 2024, with an initial funding total of $80 million. FOA Information & Application
- Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities (BBF) Program & Low-and-No-Emission (Low-No) Program
The US Department of Transportation announced $1.5 billion in funding awards for the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities (BBF) Program which will replace, rehabilitate, and purchase buses and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities, including technological changes or innovations to modify low or no emission vehicles or facilities
The US Department of Transportation also announced that the Low-and-No-Emission (Low-No) Grant Program funded $1.5 billion to transit agencies to purchase American-made busses, 80% of which are zero or low-emission technology.
Minnesota Recipients:
~ SouthWest Transit - $520,436 (BBF) to rehabilitate the Southwest Station Park and Ride and bus garage.
~ MDOT on behalf of Cedar Valley Services – $6,282,400 (BBF) to build two new transit facilities.
~ MDOT on behalf of two rural agencies - $2,303,200 (Low-No) on behalf of United Community Action Partnership-Community Transit and Friendly Rider Transit, will receive funding to buy propane buses and build the necessary fueling infrastructure.
- DOE 2024 Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP)
DOE’s National Renewable Energy Lab is awarding $3.15 million to 12 US component suppliers and manufacturers of small-and medium-sized wind turbines as a part of the 2024 Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP). These selections will advance distributed wind turbine technology through testing and commercialization, providing more certified technology options for clean energy deployment.
Minnesota Recipients:
Inverter Certification
~ EWT Americas – Bloomington – Awarded $198,265 to certify their 1-megawatt inverter
Product Commercialization and Market Development
~ EWT Americas – Bloomington – Awarded $149,050 to educate customers on wind turbine potential for agribusiness, and commercial and industrial operations in the Midwest
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)
- Elective Pay – Blueprints for Communities
- Clean Energy and Manufacturing Workforce Training and Technical Awards
- Green and Resilient Retrofit Program – Elements
- Rural Energy for America
Tribal Governments Funding Opportunities & Items of Interest
- FY 24 Funding to Support Tribal Climate Resilience
- Intertribal Organization Opportunity: Support for Tribal Clean Energy Communication and Engagement
- DOE Technical Assistance for federally recognized Indian Tribes and Tribal Entities
Notice of Intent (NOI)
- Non-Lithium Long-Duration Energy Storage Pilot Projects
- Industrial Partnership Call
Request for Information (RFI)
- Production of Biofuel Feedstocks using Climate-Smart Practices
- Renewable Propane Production Technologies and Uses
Guidance on IRA Tax Credit Programs
- IRS Additional Direct Pay Office Hours
- Clean Energy Tax Navigator
Prizes/Awards
- Solar District Cup – Round Six
- American-Made Upskill Prize for the Solar Manufacturing Workforce – Round Two
Student Scholarships/Competitions/Fellowships
- Solar Decathlon 2025 Design Challenge!
Technical Assistance
- Long-Duration Energy Storage Vouchers
Webinars
- Equitable Solar Communities of Practice – Five Virtual Convenings
- Effectively Communicating Climate Facts & Policy
Workshops, Meetings, Conferences
- Better Plants Decarbonization Bootcamp
- RE+ 2024: Renewing What’s Possible
Publications/Videos/Webpages
- Fusion Energy Strategy 2024
- Introduction to Energy Management Systems: A College-Level Course Module
- The Future of Vehicle Grid Integration: Harnessing the Flexibility of EV Charging
- Clean Energy Tax Navigator
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IIJA Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA)
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Clean Energy and Manufacturing Workforce Training and Technical Awards – BIL § 40521
The DOE, in collaboration with its Partnership Intermediary, ENERGYWERX, has opened applications to establish new industrial training and assessment centers, as part of the Industrial Assessment Centers network to train students and incumbent workers for high-quality careers in clean energy, energy efficiency, and advanced manufacturing, and to help small and midsized manufacturers save money, reduce energy waste, and improve productivity.
DOE aims to support community and technical colleges; trade schools; union training programs (including labor-management training programs); apprenticeship readiness, apprenticeship, and internship programs; and their employer and workforce system partners through planning awards of up to $200,000, execution awards of up to $2,000,000, and cohort awards of up to $7,000,000.
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Other Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA)
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Elective Pay – Blueprints for Communities
The DOE has partnered with the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service to support implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Elective Pay (also called Direct Pay). Elective Pay – Blueprints for Communities is a FOA for communities to receive additional resources as they plan and implement projects eligible for Elective Pay. The opportunity envisions development and distribution of blueprints as documents that will help guide interested entities through all stages of a sample project, identifying important considerations, opportunities, and restrictions along to claiming Elective Pay or the 179d energy efficient commercial building property tax deduction.
Organizations applying to this funding opportunity should have demonstrated experience providing educational or technical assistance services to entities within the eligibility range for elective pay, which includes state, local, tribal, and territorial governmental entities, as well as non-profit organizations. Applicants can request up to $305,000 to execute proposed activities over the course of 6 months. A total of $915,000 in funding will be awarded to 3-10 selectees through this opportunity.
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Green and Resilient Retrofit Program – Elements – IRA § 30002
The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) is the first HUD program to simultaneously invest in energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, energy generation, green and healthy housing, and climate resilience strategies specifically in HUD-assisted multifamily housing. All the investments under the GRRP will be made in affordable housing communities serving low-income families by improving the quality, health, safety, and comfort of their housing, by strengthening their homes to be more resilient against extreme weather events, and by enhancing their ability to remain in their homes during the recovery from such events. This NOFO makes available approximately $140 million for the Elements Awards and describes the eligibility and process to select properties for this funding.
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Rural Energy for America Program – IRA § 22002
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) is now accepting applications for $1 billion in grants (50% cost share) and/or loans to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses invest in renewable energy systems and make energy-efficiency improvements. Funding Categories:
~ Energy Audit and Renewable Energy Development Assistance (EA/REDA) grant funds
~ Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements (RES/EEI) grant funds
~ RES/EEI and Energy Efficient Equipment and Systems (EEE) – loan guarantee funds
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Tribal Governments Funding Opportunities & Items of Interest
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FY 24 Funding to Support Tribal Climate Resilience – BIL & IRA
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is providing this funding to support Tribes and authorized Tribal organizations as they prepare for and address climate change impacts on Tribal Treaty and Trust resources, economies, regenerative agriculture and food sovereignty, conservation practices, infrastructure, and human health and safety. Funding will be prioritized for projects that address imminent climate-related threats to human health and safety (including relocation, managed retreat, and protect-in-place efforts) and Tribal capacity to address such threats. Funds may also support projects addressing (but not limited to) environmental justice and equity, sustainability, sovereignty (e.g., energy, food), infrastructure, vulnerable economies, natural and cultural resources, agriculture, conservation, habitat restoration or improvements. Funding is available for Category 1: Planning; Category 2: Implementation; Category 3: Relocation, Managed Retreat, Protect in Place, Staff Salary.
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Intertribal Organization Opportunity: Support for Tribal Clean Energy Communication and Engagement
The DOE’s Office of Indian Energy is seeking collaboration with up to four regional nonprofit intertribal organizations as a pilot program to coordinate, collaborate, and partner with the Office of Indian Energy. The purpose of this opportunity is to help federally recognized Tribes navigate and access DOE clean energy funding and technical assistance opportunities by amplifying DOE messaging and creating effective engagement opportunities for member Tribes. Funding will support communication, internal organizational capacity-building, and engagement activities, with the goal of building long-lasting effective working relationships with Tribal elected leaders, key staff, and DOE.
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DOE Technical Assistance for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes and Tribal Entities
Technical experts from the DOE’s Office of Indian Energy, the national laboratories, and other partnering organizations, provide support to assist federally recognized Indian Tribes and Tribal entities with energy planning, energy efficiency assessments, resource assessments, project planning, and building codes and utility formation activities.
The goal of the technical assistance is to address a specific challenge or fulfill a need that is essential to successful project implementation. The intended result of this technical assistance is a tangible product or specific deliverable designed to help move a project forward.
Free technical assistance is available on request and on a rolling basis.
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Notice of Intent (NOI)
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Non-Lithium Long-Duration Energy Storage Pilot Projects
DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations intends to issue a NOFO entitled “Energy Storage Pilot Demonstrations”. The goal of this new investment area is to support pilot-scale demonstrations for non-lithium, long-duration energy storage solutions that advance technical maturity, reduce uncertainty in cost and performance characteristics, generate operational datasets, and increase investor and end-user confidence in technical and commercial maturation pathways and timelines. Up to $100 million in IIJA/BIL funding will be available for 3 to 15 projects of between $5 million and $20 million. The NOFO is anticipated to be released on or about August 2024 with selections made in mid-2025.
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Industrial Partnership Call
The DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office’s Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium (FCIC) intends to issue an Industrial Partnership Call (IPC) to allow collaboration between industry stakeholders and FCIC researchers. These partnerships will address the cost and risk impacts of feedstock and process variability across the bioenergy and bioproducts value chain. The intended IPC will have three topic areas:
Topic Area 1: Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) Partnerships
Topic Area 2: Technical Assistance Projects
Topic Area 3: Biorefinery Technical Assistance Projects
The intended IPC is expected to be released in September 2024.
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Request for Information (RFI)
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Production of Biofuel Feedstocks using Climate-Smart Practices
The USDA has released a Request for Information for Production of Biofuel Feedstocks using Climate-Smart Practices. The purpose of the RFI is to understand procedures for quantifying, reporting, and verifying the effect of climate-smart farming practices on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with U.S.-grown biofuel feedstock crops. The input will inform a potential USDA rulemaking to establish voluntary standards for biofuel feedstocks grown with practices that mitigate GHG emissions and/or sequester soil carbon.
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Renewable Propane Production Technologies and Uses
DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Bioenergy Technologies Office is requesting information and feedback to understand supply chains for production and uses of renewable propane and other renewable gaseous intermediates. Specifically, DOE would like to understand the potential for R&D to increase the viability of renewable propane to pursue new production pathways to sustainable aviation fuel and other high-impact products from municipal waste; agricultural residue; forest resources; and fats, oils, and greases. EERE is specifically interested in information on the costs and benefits to a refinery that hydro-processes biogenic fats, oils, and greases of utilizing renewable propane produced in situ as process energy compared to separation and recovery of the renewable propane for sale externally in the propane market. The link above provides categories and questions.
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Guidance on IRA Tax Credit Programs
- IRS Direct Pay Office Hours
The IRS will be offering additional office hours through Microsoft Teams to help entities with the pre-filing registration process on the IRA/CHIPS Pre-filing Registration Tool. Pre-filling registration is required for entities to take advantage of direct (elective) payment or transfer of credits under both the IRA and CHIPS.
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Clean Energy Tax Navigator
Lawyers for Good Government a, nonprofit of legal experts advancing equitable clean energy, has launched the Clean Energy Tax Navigator. The tool will provide guidance on the direct pay credits that are most used by tax exempt entities, including electric vehicle purchases, EV supply equipment, and Investment Tax Credit/Production Tax Credit for wind, solar, and geothermal projects.
For the first time, these clean energy tax benefits are available to entities that have been historically excluded from claiming them—such as state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and other tax-exempt entities like schools, hospitals, places of worship, and many more.
Lawyers for Good Government will also offer webinars on direct pay:
Direct Pay Training for State Policymakers and Advocates: August 13 and August 14, 2024 | 2:00 PM CT | Register
Direct Pay Training for Cities and Municipal Governments: August 22, 2024 | 1:00 PM CT | Register
Direct Pay Training for Communities and Nonprofits: August 29, 2024 | 12:00 PM CT | Register
Prizes/Awards
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Solar District Cup – Round Six
DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office has announced the 6th round of the Solar District Cup – a collegiate competition designed to bring together multidisciplinary teams to design energy systems for a mixed-use campus or district. Diverse student teams assume the role of a solar developer to produce conceptual designs, financing, and project development planning in a solar-plus-storage proposal for a district use case. Students receive training from solar-industry experts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and partner companies. Students also receive free access to leading industry tools to enable successful solar system design and financial modeling.
Collegiate teams will base their energy system designs around the needs of real-world district use cases. Students will have two options for their district use cases:
~ Assignment to a district use case defined by competition organizers.
~ Self-selection of a district use case. All student teams choosing to bring their own district will compete in a division against other teams bringing their own districts.
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American-Made Upskill Prize for the Solar Manufacturing Workforce – Round Two
DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office has announced the second round of the Upskill Prize which is designed to accelerate the expansion of the U.S. solar manufacturing workforce. This prize addresses critical workforce needs at various stages of the U.S. solar photovoltaics module supply chain and offers winning teams up to $500,000 each for comprehensive workforce training plans that are composed of either or both:
New Worker Training: Develop and propose plans to train new workers with the skills they need to be successful in the solar manufacturing industry, particularly at new or expanding manufacturing facilities.
Incumbent Worker Training: Develop and propose plans to train incumbent workers with new skills needed to support the growth of solar manufacturing.
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Scholarships/Student Competitions/Fellowships
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Solar Decathlon 2025 Design Challenge!
- Information
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Kickoff Webinar: September 10, 2024 | 11:00 AM CT | Register
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Registration Deadline: October 23, 2024
Registration is open for the DOE 2025 Solar Decathlon Design Challenge, where interdisciplinary collegiate teams will create efficient, resilient, and sustainable buildings that meet community needs. Design Challenge teams compete to create high-performance, low carbon building designs that address real-world issues as existing building retrofits, community impacts, affordability, and resilience.
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Technical Assistance
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Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Vouchers
The DOE’s Office of Electricity seeks to provide LDES technology companies, including developers, vendors and manufacturers, with services such as market assessment support, business plan formulation, technical modeling or analysis, testing, performance validation, and commercialization strategy support. This support will come from providers, such as national labs, consulting firms, non-profits, or technology testing centers, to advance non-hydrogen, electricity-in/electricity-out LDES technologies. Vouchers will be distributed as in-kind support by ENERGYWERX and will directly reimburse the Voucher Provider for the work they have completed on behalf of the Voucher Recipients. The value of each voucher will depend on the services defined in the Providers’ capability statements, with estimated values of support services per recipient ranging from $50,000 to $150,000.
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Webinars
- Equitable Solar Communities of Practice – Five Virtual Convenings
DOE’s Equitable Solar Communities of Practice will be offering virtual community convenings through the summer. Participants will learn about each meaningful benefit category, explore and provide input on resource gaps, and identify best practices and potential solutions to bring equitable solar to scale.
Community-led Economic Development Convening
Date: Tuesday, July 30, 2024 | 2:00 – 5:00 PM CT
Host: Cooperative Energy Futures
Focus: How distributed solar energy can best achieve community-led economic development. The event includes focused breakout rooms to dive deep into barriers and solutions.
Resilience, Storage, and Grid Benefits Convening
Date: Monday, August 5, 2024 | 12:00 – 2:00 PM CT
Host: Clean Energy Group
Focus: Best practices and opportunities in resilient power—solar energy paired with battery storage. Discussions will focus on household and community resilience, grid strengthening, and health benefits from mitigating power outages.
Access and Consumer Protections Convening
Date: Thursday, August 22, 2024 | 1:00 – 3:00 PM CT
Host: Solar United Neighbors
Focus: Address challenges and best practices for ensuring access to solar energy with strong consumer protections, particularly for low-income households.
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Effectively Communicating Climate Facts & Policy
Climate Xchange, Climate Central, and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication will host a panel of climate communicators to consider the latest research on Americans’ views on climate change and policy and how to effectively communicate to the public.
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Workshops/Meetings/Conferences
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Better Plants Decarbonization Bootcamp
Better Plants Decarbonization Bootcamp will be held in Knoxville, Tennessee at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The focus of this course will be establishing milestones for decarbonizing industrial systems and manufacturing processes. The Bootcamp cover topics including: GHG accounting, renewable energy, low/no-carbon fuels, electrification, carbon capture and storage, and decarbonization roadmap development. Attendees will also learn about DOE’s decarbonization software tools. This decarbonization-focused workshop is targeted specifically towards individuals who are relatively new to GHG emissions and are working on pathways to a zero-carbon future.
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RE+ 2024: Renewing What’s Possible
This is the 20th anniversary for RE+ and this conference will be the largest and most comprehensive event for the clean energy industry. What began as Solar Power International (SPI) has evolved into RE+, uniting an extensive alliance of renewable energy leaders for multiple days of programming and networking opportunities. Today, RE+ incorporates business opportunities and education content across the clean energy industry including solar, energy storage, hydrogen, microgrids, EV charging and infrastructure, and wind energy.
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Publications/Videos/Webpages
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Fusion Energy Strategy 2024
DOE has released Fusion Energy Strategy 2024 to accelerate the viability of commercial fusion energy in partnership with the private sector. The strategy has three components:
~ Resolving the scientific and technological gaps to a fusion pilot plant
~ Paving the way for commercial fusion deployment
~ Cultivating and expanding partnerships
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Introduction to Energy Management Systems: A College-Level Course Module
The DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office is offering Introduction to Energy Management Systems, a course module on the DOE's 50001 Ready energy management framework and the ISO 50001 international standard. The DOE is offering free instructional materials designed to integrate with existing courses on energy systems, energy efficiency, and energy management. Students that complete the course are also eligible to receive a DOE course completion certificate.
Instructional material includes an overview on using the materials; sample syllabus; PowerPoint slides for 75-minute lecturers; sample homework and class discussion topics.
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The Future of Vehicle Grid Integration: Harnessing the Flexibility of EV Charging
DOE has developed this document, with broad stakeholder input, to outline a shared vision for vehicle grid integration (VGI), where electric vehicles are safely and securely connected to, reliably served by, and harmonized with the electric grid. The document serves as guidepost, offering direction for stakeholders as they develop products, identify opportunities for standardization, and design new policies, rates, and services, among other activities.
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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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