Energy efficiency improvements grants available

League of Minnesota Cities, Nov. 4, 2009

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) included approximately $54 million to the Minnesota Office of Energy Security (OES) for the State Energy Program (SEP) and approximately $40 million for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants program (EECBG), $7.6 million of which was given directly to the state to give to communities that are not direct EECBG recipients. With input from the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC), OES has been developing programs to assist local governments.


Facility Cost-Share Grant program
OES will roll out the first of two programs in mid-November. The Facility Cost-Share Grant program will utilize both SEP and EECBG dollars. The first phase of the program will make between $4 million and $6 million available competitively statewide to local governments to make energy efficiency improvements to existing facilities. These improvements should be ready for immediate implementation. The Facilities Cost-Share Grant program will provide grants for up to 25 percent of the cost of a facility improvement with a maximum of $100,000 for each grant award.

The program will be made available to cities, counties, townships, and school districts. Eligible projects include lighting retrofits, existing building commissioning, building envelope improvements, HVAC equipment and control upgrades, and other proposed projects that improve energy efficiency.

The request for proposal (RFP) for the cost-share program will be posted on the EOS website when it becomes available in mid-November. EOS anticipates local governments will have 45 days to submit RFPs.

EECBG competitive grant program
The second program will use state EECBG dollars for a competitive grant to local governments. This program is intended to enhance energy efficiency and reduce energy use across the state. The grants will be awarded to the most competitive cities and counties that are not eligible for direct EECBG formula grants. Proposals will be evaluated based on energy savings and jobs created per grant dollar requested, green house gas emissions savings, and other criteria. More specifics on this program will be available soon.

OES will present a webinar on Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. to discuss the two stimulus programs and to answer questions from local governments. If you are unable to participate in the webinar OES will have the presentation available on its website at a later time along with answers to questions asked.

To register for the webinar, visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/265159144.
For more informationMore information on these programs is available on the OES website.

To ask questions, contact Abby Finis, OES, at abby.finis@state.mn.us or (651) 296-6205.
For more information, contact Hue Nguyen, LMC, at hnguyen@lmc.org or (651) 281-1260; Craig Johnson, LMC, at cjohnson@lmc.org or (651) 281-1259; or Lena Gould, LMC, at lgould@lmc.org or (651) 281-1245.