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The Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization (Energy Communities IWG) is pursuing a whole-of-government approach to create good-paying union jobs, spur economic revitalization, remediate environmental degradation, and support energy workers in coal, oil and gas, and power plant communities across the country.
Energy Communities: Institutional Investment Opportunities in America’s Energy Transition Read Out
On Monday, April 29, the Energy Communities IWG hosted an event at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with senior federal officials and financial industry representatives to discuss the financial and public benefits of investing in energy communities. Participants shared insights about the challenges of investing at scale, including intermediary capacity; a common taxonomy; and the need for robust, sincere community engagement.
Read more and access key takeaways here.
New Funding Opportunities & Announcements
- Energy Communities AmeriCorps
Beginning as a collaboration between the Department of the Interior, the Energy Communities Interagency Working Group, and AmeriCorps VISTA, a new interagency public private partnership – Energy Communities AmeriCorps – will place American Climate Corps members in priority energy communities across the country. The program will help support community-led projects, including environmental remediation, in the places that have powered our nation for generations. - U.S. Departments of the Treasury and Energy Release Additional Guidance on Inflation Reduction Act Programs to Incentivize Manufacturing and Clean Energy Investments in Hard-Hit Coal Communities
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a notice that provides additional information about the second allocation round under the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit (§ 48C) program. Round 2 will allocate up to $6 billion to eligible projects, with approximately $2.5 billion going to projects in § 48C energy communities.
Join DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) and Treasury for a virtual informational webinar for potential applicants on Thursday, May 16, at noon ET. This webinar will provide information about the second allocation round and how to prepare and submit concept papers. Register for the webinar here. - Biden-Harris Administration Announces First Projects Receiving Clean Energy Manufacturing Investments in America’s Industrial and Energy Communities
DOE released details for 35 projects across 20 states that voluntarily shared with DOE that they received a total of $1.93 billion in allocations of the § 48C tax credit. The projects are addressing critical needs across the clean energy economy, including grid components, electric vehicle components and chargers, solar components, clean steel, critical materials processing and recycling, and other clean energy products. - EPA Solar for All: Solar for Energy Communities Highlights
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced 60 selectees who will receive $7 billion in grant awards through the Solar for All grant competition to deliver residential solar projects to over 900,000 households nationwide. Solar for All projects are located in various energy communities, including Wyoming, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Ohio, and others. - Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $140 Million to Address Legacy Pollution, Revitalize Coal Communities in West Virginia
DOI announced more than $140 million in fiscal year (FY) 2023 funding to address dangerous and polluting abandoned mine lands; create good-paying, family-sustaining jobs; and catalyze economic opportunity in coal communities across West Virginia. - ARC Selects 90 Local Governments to Receive No-Cost Training, Access to Funding through READY Local Governments Initiative
The Appalachian Regional Commissions’ (ARC) READY Local Governments initiative offers participants nine weeks of virtual, cohort-based learning to grow their skills in project identification and planning, federal grant application development, federal grant regulations and compliance, community engagement in projects, and more. - EPA Partners with Energy Communities to Support Community-Driven Energy Transition and Economic Revitalization Goals
Webster County, KY and the Hopi Tribe will receive technical assistance through the Energy Communities Technical Assistance Pilot program. EPA and recipient communities will work together to develop implementable action plans that promote environmental and economic revitalization as part of their energy sector transformation. - Biden-Harris Administration Announces $37 Million from the Investing in America Agenda to Clean Up Legacy Pollution in Kentucky, Mississippi and Missouri
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) awarded $36.9 million in the first phase of formula grant funding for Kentucky, Mississippi and Missouri to clean up legacy pollution. As part of the awards, the three states will measure methane emissions from orphaned oil and gas wells, screen for groundwater and surface water impacts, and seek to prioritize cleaning up wells near overburdened and disadvantaged communities. - Biden-Harris Administration Invests More Than $17 Million to Build Domestic Supply Chain for Critical Minerals and Materials
DOE announced $17.5 million for four projects that will help lower the costs and reduce the environmental impacts of the onshore production of rare earths and other critical minerals and materials from coal, coal wastes and coal byproducts. - Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Announces More Than $124.8 Million to Reclaim Abandoned Coal Mines
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) announced more than $124.8 million in FY 2024 abandoned mine land (AML) reclamation grants available to states and Tribes. AML reclamation efforts continue to protect the health and safety of Americans and restore the environment. - DOE Releases 3 Updated Community Benefits Plan (CBP) Templates
Upcoming Funding Deadlines
The following funding opportunities and technical assistance programs have application deadlines coming up in the next four weeks and can all be found in the Energy Communities IWG’s online clearinghouse. To learn more about how to navigate the clearinghouse, click here.
U.S. Department of Energy
- Upskill Prize for the Solar Manufacturing Workforce – Round 1 Due May 21
- Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) – FY 2024 Due May 22
- Clean Energy Technology Deployment on Tribal Lands – 2024 Due May 30
- Local Government Energy Program: Communities Sparking Investment in Transformative Energy (C-SITE) Due May 31
- Regional Resource Hubs for Purpose-Grown Energy Crops Due June 13
- Renewable Energy Siting through Technical Engagement and Planning (R-STEP) – Round 2 Due June 13
- Clean Energy to Communities Program (C2C): In-Depth Partnerships Due June 14
- BIL 40503: Energy Auditor Training (EAT) Due June 28
- Solar and Wind Interconnection for Future Transmission (SWIFTR) Due June 28
- Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program Section 40209 – Round 2 Due July 1
- Energizing Rural Communities Grant Due July 12
U.S. Department of Transportation
U.S. Department of the Treasury
U.S. Department of Agriculture
- The Rural eConnectivity Program (ReConnect) Due May 21
- Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program Due June 3
- Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant Due June 3
- Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Due June 30
U.S. Department of the Interior
Events & Additional Resources
- Illinois Basin § 48C Regional Event Resources
Resources are now available! Access the event recording, fact sheets, contact cards and more from the Energy Communities IWG’s Illinois Basin § 48C Regional Event in Evansville, Indiana.
- Stories from Communities LEAP Pilot Webinar
DOE recently hosted a webinar for communities to share their technical assistance experiences during the Communities Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP) pilot, including the progress they made toward achieving their various clean energy goals. Check out their stories!
- Southern Illinois IWG Funding Panel
May 14–15, 2024
Shawnee College Campus, Metropolis, Illinois
- WORC 6 Pre-Application Workshop
May 29, 2024, 12–1 p.m. ET; virtual
This technical assistance webinar will cover funding opportunity basics and provide lessons learned to support Appalachian region applicants for the 2024 Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC Round 6) funding opportunity.
- Advancing Appalachia: ARC 2024 Annual Conference
September 4–5, 2024
Chattanooga, Tennessee
ARC’s annual conference will highlight how Appalachia’s 13 states and 423 counties are working to advance the region by building businesses and workforces, investing in infrastructure and tourism, and growing local leadership capacity.
- Southern Illinois IWG Funding Panel
October 22–23, 2024
University of Illinois Extension Center, Carmi, Illinois
- U.S. Department of Labor Releases Clean Energy Jobs Interactive Map
The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced the launch of an interactive map to help workers, unions and the public learn more about the tens of thousands of jobs being created nationwide by more than 1,000 planned clean energy projects.
Support § 48C as a Reviewer
Are you interested in supporting the implementation of this impactful program? DOE’s MESC has exciting opportunities available to contribute to the § 48C Tax Credit Program Application merit review process. Learn more about how to apply here.
On behalf of all Energy Communities IWG member agencies, thank you for your continued interest in programs that support people living and working in America’s energy communities. Please feel free to share this newsletter with others in your network who may benefit.
Best regards,
Brian J. Anderson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization
To learn more about funding opportunities, visit the Energy Communities IWG Clearinghouse.
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