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DOE Awards $31 Million for Clean Energy Projects

By Lori Lovely | Oct 9, 2024
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In early September, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $31 million in funding through the Communities Sparking Investments in Transformative Energy (C-SITE) to 12 local governments and tribes. These grants will fund high-impact clean energy projects in disadvantaged communities, energy communities and small- and medium-sized jurisdictions.

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In early September, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $31 million in funding through the Communities Sparking Investments in Transformative Energy (C-SITE) to 12 local governments and tribes. As part of the DOE’s new Local Government Energy Program, these grants will fund high-impact clean energy projects in disadvantaged communities, energy communities and small- and medium-sized jurisdictions.

“By investing in energy projects in smaller, disadvantaged, and energy-transition communities, these grants will reduce energy costs, increase resilience, and create jobs and economic opportunity in places that have historically been left behind by federal programs,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm.

The goal of C-SITE is to fund projects that attract additional community investment and directly benefit residents through reduced energy costs and improved air quality, while also providing workforce agreements and protections for workers.

Qualifying projects are expected to provide numerous benefits, including turning vacant lots into housing; modeling new approaches such as deploying agrivoltaics in a small rural community; reducing operational costs and building resilience; providing workforce opportunities by training apprentices; and attracting investment through creating new business models for utilities.

The first round of selectees includes:

City of Chattanooga, Tenn.—$2.9 million to create a community resilience hub to provide employment services, including roof insulation, high-performance windows and LED lighting. 

Town of Greenville, Fla.—$3 million to install agrivoltaics systems, retrofit community buildings with energy-efficient technologies and host education workshops. 

Hennepin County, Minn. —$2.5 million to provide residential audits, weatherization, energy efficiency upgrades and solar installation in disadvantaged communities. 

City of Highland Park, Mich. —$2.5 million to install and maintain 30 solar-powered streetlights and make other energy investments to reduce costs. 

Hopi Utilities Corporation in Arizona—$3.4 million to add a behind-the-meter, grid-tied battery energy storage system to store excess power from an existing microgrid to decrease reliance on diesel generators and reduce high costs for the Hopi Tribe.  

Native Village of Kotzebue in Northern Alaska, in collaboration with Kotzebue Electric Association, Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corp. Inc., the Northwest Arctic Borough and Atautchikun LLC—$3.35 million to invest in local, tribally produced renewable solar energy and leverage decommissioned wind turbine infrastructure to reduce energy costs. 

City of Milwaukee— $3.4 million to develop 25 all-electric, net-zero energy homes on existing vacant lots in three disadvantaged communities. 

City of New Orleans—$1.7 million to expand existing bike share system to provide an affordable public transportation service for New Orleanians and train e-bike mechanics to service the fleet. 

Orick Community Services District, Calif.—$900,000 to establish a resilient microgrid with solar and storage to provide reliable power to critical facilities.

Raton Public Service Company in Raton, N.M.—$2 million to complete Phase 2 of a municipally-owned utility solar energy initiative by constructing 750 kilowatts of solar capacity and installing photovoltaic panels, inverters and electrical infrastructure to integrate into the grid.

Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota—$3.15 million to invest in an innovative, behind-the-meter microgrid system to provide electricity for a secondary school complex. 

Region Five Development Commission, Minn.—$2.5 million to provide inclusive clean energy financing to four projects in rural communities in central Minnesota, including a school solar project and a tribal electric vehicle project.

About The Author

Lori Lovely is an award-winning writer and editor in central Indiana. She writes on technical topics, heavy equipment, automotive, motorsports, energy, water and wastewater, animals, real estate, home improvement, gardening and more. Reach her at: [email protected]


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