energy specific funding opportunties




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November 20, 2024

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), 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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL, aka the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other state and federal energy programs.

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Announcements: Department of Commerce Energy Programs

*Minnesota Releases Request for Proposal (RFP) for Home Energy Rebates Program Implementation *

The Minnesota Department of Information Technology Services (MNIT) in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (COMM) is seeking a single responder to provide program design, planning, administration, implementation, technical, and administrative support for the delivery of the Home Energy Rebates (HER) Programs and other state-funded programs related to residential rebates, grants, and other forms of financial assistance. 

*To view the RFP announcement** *visit: [link removed] [ [link removed] ]


* *Search for:*
* *Title: *MNIT/COMM MN HER Program Implementation RFP ITN
* *REFERENCE NUMBER: *PT4572
* *SWIFT Event:* #2000016394 

*Response to this solicitation is due no later than: *December 6, 2024 at 2:00 PM CT

*Note*: If you do not already have a State of Minnesota Supplier Portal [ [link removed] ] account, you will need to create one.

 

*Minnesota’s Home Energy Rebates*

Want to keep up to date on the Minnesota’s upcoming residential rebate programs?  Sign up to receive Commerce’s Consumer Announcements [ [link removed] ] newsletter, which provides updates for individuals including consumers, homeowners, renters and the general public. Primary topics include energy rebates, grants, and incentives. The Minnesota Home Energy Rebates [ [link removed] ], Residential Heat Pump Rebate [ [link removed] ], and Residential Electric Panel Upgrade Grant [ [link removed] ] programs will use the Consumer Announcements newsletter to share program updates, opportunities for public engagement, and more. Sign up here [ [link removed] ].

 

 

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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!*

*Voucher Program*

The Voucher Program [ [link removed] ], funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as part of the Technology Commercialization Fund [ [link removed] ], has announced the selection of more than 170 organizations to receive vouchers valued over $20 million to advance the commercialization of their clean energy technologies. The in-kind commercialization support will be provided by almost 60 organizations in the form of DOE-funded vouchers. Selected organizations receive vouchers across seven types of support, including analytical assistance (technoeconomic analyses, market readiness assessments, etc.), performance validation (testing, certification, etc.), siting/permitting support for jurisdictions, and planning of industrial decarbonization projects.


* *Carbon Solutions, LLC – St Paul - *will provide community engagement support to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory spin-out, Mote (CA), unlocking their ability to further commercialize a technology that converts biomass waste to clean hydrogen and permanently storable CO2. 

 

*Clean Cities and Communities*

The DOE has announced $18.6 million for 15 projects that will drive innovation in equitable clean transportation and provide first responders with the tools they need to properly respond to calls involving zero emission vehicles. The new investments will provide outreach and technical assistance training to local communities, safety training and resources for emergency responders transitioning to zero-emission and electric vehicles, and support for demonstration and deployment of innovative clean transportation technologies. 


* *St. Paul - $1 million – *Topic Area 1: Clean Cities Outreach, Engagement and Technical Assistance. Engaging Neighborhood Diesel‐operators: Healing Air and Reducing Disparities with New Opportunities and Expediency.
* *St. Paul - $1 million – *Topic Area 3: Clean Transportation Demonstration and Deployment. Sustainable Advancements in Vehicle Operations and Refrigeration

 

*Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) *

The USDA announced four Minnesota businesses received over $3 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to increase the availability of domestic biofuels. HBIIP provides grants to fueling station and distribution facility owners—including marine, rail, and home heating oil facilities—to help expand access to domestic biofuels as a clean and affordable energy source.


* *Farmers Union Oil Company of Alexandria - Garfield *received $690,200 to install two E85 dispensers, three B20 dispensers, two ethanol storage tanks, and two biodiesel storage tanks at one fueling station in Garfield. This project projects to increase the amount of biofuel sold by 97,685 gallons per year.
* *Farmers Coop Fuel and Hardware *- *Fisher* received $512,250 to install two E85 dispensers, three B20 dispensers, two ethanol storage tanks, and one biodiesel storage tank at one fueling station in Fisher. This project projects to increase the amount of biofuel sold by 67,215 gallons per year.
* *Mega Stop Inc. - Lakeville* received $330,750 to install seven B20 dispensers at one fueling station in Lakeville. This project projects to increase the amount of biodiesel sold by 273,814 gallons per year.
* *University One Inc. - St. Paul and Hopkins* received $1,476,750 to install six E15 dispensers, five E85 dispensers, five B20 dispensers, three ethanol storage tanks, and three biodiesel storage tanks at three fueling stations in St. Paul and Hopkins. This project projects to increase the amount of biofuel sold by 1,075,000 gallons per year.

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Recent and Expected Federal Funding Activity

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

*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) [ #FOA1 ]


* Transmission Acceleration Grants (TAG) Program
* High-Performance Computing for Energy Innovation Program: Collaboration for U.S. Manufacturers

Notice of Intent (NOI) [ #NoticeofIntent ]


* Accelerating CO2 Conversion Technology Development and Deployment – Biological, Catalytic, and Mineralization Pathways

Request for Information (RFI) [ #RequestforInformation ]


* Geologic Hydrogen Resource Exploration

Guidance on IRA Tax Credit Programs [ #taxes ]


* Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit- Section 45X

Prizes/Awards [ #PrizesAwards ]


* American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize – Round 3

Student Scholarships/Competitions/Fellowships [ #ScholarshipsStudentCompetitions ]


* Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SLUI) Program and the Community College Internships (CCI) Program

Technical Assistance [ #TechnicalAssistance ]


* Renewable Energy Siting through Technical Engagement and Planning (R-STEP)

Webinars [ #webinars ]


* Consumer Protections in the Solar Industry – Best Practices and Expert Perspectives
* Building our Clean Energy Future, Together

Workshops, Meetings, Conferences [ #workshops ]


* Minnesota Renewable Energy Roundtable

Publications/Videos/Webpages [ #videos ]


* Tax Credit Product Lookup Tool
* Artificial Intelligence Camera Captures Bird Behavior Around Solar Panels to Inform Siting and Conservation
* Big Energy Data at Your Fingertips Thanks to the Open Energy Data Initiative
* Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Sustainable Aviation Fuel
* Community Ownership of Clean Energy Infrastructure





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*Other Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA)*

* *Transmission Acceleration Grants (TAG) Program*
* Information [ [link removed] ]
* *Deadline: *January 21, 2025

The DOE Grid Deployment Office’s Transmission Acceleration Grants (TAG) will support State and Tribal efforts to accelerate and improve transmission siting and permitting and strengthen transmission planning for critical transmission lines (100 kV or greater) in any area of the country. Eligible participants are State or Tribal entities, or entities working with them such as regional transmission planning organizations, regional-state committees, or not-for-profit organizations. The TAG Program has $10 million available for this funding opportunity.

 


* *High-Performance Computing for Energy Innovation Program: Collaboration for U.S. Manufacturers*
* HPC4EIFall24Solicitation [ [link removed] ]
* *Deadlines: Concept Paper: *December 11, 2024* | Full Proposal: *February, 2025

The High-Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) program seeks qualified industry partners to participate in short-term collaborative projects with the DOE’s national laboratories. HPC4EI is the umbrella initiative for the High-Performance Computing for Manufacturing (HPC4Mfg) and High-Performance Computing for Materials (HPC4Mtls) programs, which are the sponsors of this solicitation. The selected industry partners will be granted access to high-performance computing (HPC) facilities and world-class scientists at DOE’s national laboratories.

Eligibility for the HPC4EI program is limited to entities that manufacture in the United States for commercial applications and the organizations that support these entities. Selected projects will be awarded up to $400,000 each to support compute cycles and work performed by the national laboratory.

The HPC4Mfg program is interested in establishing collaborations that address key energy and decarbonization-related challenges for domestic manufacturers. The HPC4Mfg program is designed to improve manufacturing processes, address products lifecycle energy consumption, and increase the efficiency of energy conversion and storage technologies.

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*Notice of Intent (NOI)*

* *Accelerating CO2 Conversion Technology Development and Deployment – Biological, Catalytic, and Mineralization Pathways*
* DE-FOA-0003496 [ [link removed] ]

The DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) intends to issue a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on behalf of the DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. It is anticipated that the NOFO will be issued in 2025.

If issued, this funding opportunity will support pilot-scale projects that advance carbon conversion technologies with a high technology readiness level that can achieve significant carbon mitigation via biological, catalytic, or mineralization pathways. DOE also seeks to advance and support testing of product performance and characterization needed for market or consumer adoption. This may include lifecycle analysis development for novel carbon conversion technologies and lifecycle analysis development for pilot or demonstration facilities using those technologies.

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Request for Information (RFI)

* *Geologic Hydrogen Resource Exploration*
* DE-FOA-0003494 [ [link removed] ]
* *Response Deadline: *December 2, 2024 by 3:00 PM CT

The DOE issued a Request for Information to solicit input for a potential program to evaluate novel approaches to 1) explore for naturally occurring subsurface hydrogen resources or geologic targets for hydrogen stimulation, and 2) develop methodologies to determine the recoverable reserves of hydrogen from natural accumulation or available through stimulation.

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Guidance on IRA Tax Credit Programs

* *Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit**- Section 45X *
* Federal Register Final Rule [ [link removed] ]

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS released final rules for the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit (Section 45X of the Internal Revenue Code) established by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Eligible components include certain solar energy components, wind energy components, inverters, qualifying battery components, and applicable critical minerals. These final regulations affect eligible taxpayers who produce and sell eligible components and intend to claim the benefit of an advanced manufacturing production credit, including by making elective payment or credit transfer elections.

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Prizes/Awards

* *American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize – Round 3*
* *Deadline: *December 17, 2024
* Information & Application [ [link removed] ]

This $10 million prize is designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and co-developers to learn, participate, and grow their operations to support successful distributed solar projects. Solar developers or co-developers interested in expanding their distributed solar projects while incorporating community benefits are eligible to compete. Round 3 seeks organizations that have the desire and ambition to develop and finance a portfolio of two or more projects that, in aggregate, total at least 1 MW AC of distributed solar generation.

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Scholarships/Student Competitions/Fellowships

* **Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SLUI) Program and the Community College Internships (CCI) Program**
* *Deadline for both Programs: *January 8, 2025
* Information on CCI & SULI Internships [ [link removed] ]
* *CCI/SULI Alumni Panel Workshop: *December 3, 2024 | 1:00 – 1:00 PM CT | Register [ [link removed] ]

The DOE Office of Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) program and the Community College Internships (CCI) program are unique opportunities open to all current and recent college undergraduates. Interns will learn about science and technology careers, team science, networking and gain the experience needed to transition from internship to employment.

These stipend-based 10-week programs provide technical training and research opportunities at DOE national laboratories and other facilities. Interns will learn about science and technology careers, team science, networking, and gain the experience needed to transition from internship to employment.

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Technical Assistance

* *Renewable Energy Siting through Technical Engagement and Planning (R-STEP)*
* Information [ [link removed] ]
* *Deadline: *January 9, 2025
* *Informational Office Hours: *December 11, 2024 | 2:00 PM CT | Register [ [link removed] ]

The Renewable Energy Siting through Technical Engagement and Planning (R-STEP) program expands decision-making capacity and expertise of state, local, and Tribal governments around large-scale renewable energy planning, siting, and permitting. Through funding, technical assistance (TA), and peer-to-peer information sharing, R-STEP supports state-based collaboratives in developing programs or initiatives that serve as a resource to local communities.   

Through this R-STEP Opportunity, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is requesting applications from TA providers who have a deep understanding of renewable energy planning, siting, and permitting topics (e.g., environmental impacts, tax policies, land use, zoning ordinance development) and demonstrated experience providing advisory, educational, or technical assistance services. Selected TA providers will provide technical support to R-STEP collaboratives to improve their understanding of priority LSRE siting topics, inform the development of state-based resources, and strengthen the ability of collaboratives to serve as a trusted source of information within their states.

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Webinars

* *Consumer Protections in the Solar Industry – Best Practices and Expert Perspectives *
* December 3, 2024 | 1:00 PM CT | Information & Registration [ [link removed] ]

DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office brings together leaders and industry experts in this webinar to learn about the kinds of problems solar energy consumers are facing, steps the government is taking to deter deceptive business practices, and how the industry is developing standards that can protect consumers. SETO will also share updates on how DOE is supporting the advancement and deployment of solar technology.

 


* *Building our Clean Energy Future, Together*
* December 10, 2024 | 11:00 AM CT | Register [ [link removed] ]

Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Group, and RMI Managers Taylor Krause and Ian Welch-Phillips will be presenters at RMI’s December webinar. The discussion, moderated by RMI Trustee Martha Brooks, will explore the importance of activating the next generation of climate leaders and how these leaders are partnering to advance clean energy solutions around the world.

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Workshops/Meetings/Conferences

* *Minnesota Renewable Energy Roundtable*
* December 4, 2024 | 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM CT | Maple Grove, MN & Virtual |Register [ [link removed] ]

The Agriculture Utilization Research Institute’s 2024 Minnesota Renewable Energy Roundtable will explore technologies and innovations focused on improving energy efficiency for value-added agriculture/food processing sectors.

This event is $30 in person or $15 virtual, and will include:


* Emerging innovations
* Cogeneration and electrification through combined heat power (CHP) systems
* The electrification of process heat
* Induction heating systems
* Heat pumps
* Thermal storage
* Mechanical vapor compression
* Other opportunity areas

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Publications/Videos/Webpages

* *Tax Credit Product Lookup Tool*
* Go to the Tool [ [link removed] ]

Contractors and plumbers can use this tool to determine if an appliance meets eligibility criteria for the Federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement tax credit. The tool produces a results page that can be saved for future reference. Specifically, enter an appliance model number in order to determine if the rated energy efficiency information provided by the manufacturer shows compliance with the Consortium for Energy Efficiency’s [ [link removed] ] (CEE) highest numeric performance Tier in effect for that product in the current year. CEE’s Tiers serve as one of the criteria used to determine eligibility for certain equipment under the Federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement [ [link removed] ] tax credit.

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* *Artificial Intelligence Camera Captures Bird Behavior Around Solar Panels to Inform Siting and Conservation*
* Download the Article [ [link removed] ]
* Multi-Regional Study on Avian-PV Solar Interactions [ [link removed] ]

Understanding how wildlife interacts with solar arrays is critical to maintaining healthy ecosystems while deploying clean energy. Researchers at the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory developed a camera system that greatly expands knowledge of how birds interact with solar panels, using artificial intelligence. Now, researchers are testing this system across the country to support ecologically responsible solar deployment.

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* *Big Energy Data at Your Fingertips Thanks to the Open Energy Data Initiative*
* Information & Access to Data Sets [ [link removed] ]

The Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI) makes vast amounts of energy data available in the cloud for researchers, schools, start-ups, and data enthusiasts of all stripes. Currently, over 200 providers from government labs, private industries, and universities contribute to OEDI, with over 2,000 datasets comprising 2.8 petabytes of data.

 


* *Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Sustainable Aviation Fuel*
* Download the Report [ [link removed] ]

DOE has released its latest pathways to Commercial Liftoff report, which underscores the near-term potential for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to meaningfully decarbonize the aviation sector. This report analyzes the technical and commercial readiness of several SAF production pathways and highlights tangible, actionable steps.

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* *Community Ownership of Clean Energy Infrastructure*
* Download the Report [ [link removed] ]

This report from the Clean Air Task Force explores how community ownership of clean energy infrastructure can advance equity, resilience, and economic benefits. It highlights successful models of community ownership, funding structures, and policies that support local investment.

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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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other state and federal energy programs. Stay updated by clicking *subscribe *below and e-mail us at [email protected].

*Subscribe* [ [link removed] ]








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

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