U.S. DOE Expands Assist for Group-Led Clear Vitality Transitions

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DOE’s Clear Vitality to Communities (C2C) program helps native governments, electrical utilities, community-based teams, and different decisionmakers notice their clear vitality targets with modern modeling and testing instruments developed at DOE’s world-class nationwide laboratories.

At this time, DOE’s Nationwide Renewable Vitality Laboratory (NREL) launched the first C2C annual report, which highlights greater than 200 communities throughout the USA which have benefited from this groundbreaking program. C2C has supported these communities throughout the clear vitality transition—from foundational steerage to particular venture help.  

To construct on this success, DOE additionally introduced new funding, technical help, and peer studying alternatives throughout all three program choices.

C2C In-Depth Partnerships Accepting New Proposals

NREL right this moment launched a Request for Proposals to help 2-4 communities in creating tailor-made, actionable decarbonization methods as a part of C2C in-depth partnerships providing. Groups comprising an area authorities, electrical utility, and community-based organizations can apply for a multi-year partnership with specialists from DOE’s nationwide laboratories. Lab specialists will assist these groups higher perceive, mannequin, and validate potential clear vitality deployment methods so the communities they symbolize could make extra knowledgeable selections. In-depth partnerships give attention to key challenges that deal with a number of sectors, together with the renewable vitality, mobility, grid, and buildings sectors.

Awards embrace as much as $500,000 in subcontract funding and as much as $3,500,000 within the type of in-depth technical help from a number of nationwide laboratories. Funding can be utilized to help employees, group engagement actions, and the acquisition of fresh vitality infrastructure or know-how.

Be a part of a webinar on April 18 at 1 p.m. ET to be taught extra and apply by June 14.

Previous and ongoing in-depth partnership highlights embrace:

• Pilot venture supporting an Alaska utility’s transition from coal to scrub vitality
• Energetic In-Depth Partnerships in Chicago, Illinois; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania and New Jersey; Moloka‘i, Hawaii; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Sitka, Alaska.

Webinars

This week, NREL introduced a brand new spherical of C2C peer-learning cohorts. Ten to fifteen communities will convene repeatedly from July-December 2024 to change methods and greatest practices and be taught from nationwide laboratory specialists on the next subjects:

• Designing and Enhancing Vitality Effectivity Packages for Residential Buildings
• Charting a Path to Municipal Fleet Electrification
• Implementing an Agrivoltaics Mission

Be a part of a webinar on April 10 at 1 p.m. ET to be taught extra and apply by April 30.

Previous peer-learning cohorts, in addition to the three ongoing cohorts, have achieved a number of notable successes:

• Cook dinner County, Illinois, developed an EV-charging technique.
• Little Rock, Arkansas, established a plan to attain 100% clear vitality for its municipal operations by 2030.
• The San Diego Affiliation of Governments discovered new methods to boost group participation in clear vitality planning.
• Clear Cities and Communities supplied ongoing help to members throughout and between cohort classes.

Functions Stay Open for Quick Time period Technical Help

C2C’s knowledgeable match program supplies between 40 and 60 hours of tailor-made technical help to assist native governments, electrical utilities, community-based teams, and others deal with short-term vitality challenges. Functions are accepted on a rolling foundation. Apply right this moment!

Previous Skilled Match highlights embrace:

• Partnering with the Black Farmers Collaborative to discover agrivoltaics on farms in Florida and throughout the Southeast
• Exploring the potential of floating photo voltaic on a municipal reservoir with Cohoes, New York
• Figuring out alternatives for business constructing effectivity in Unincorporated Norcross, Georgia
• Figuring out the prices and advantages of varied methods for reaching net-zero operations in Washtenaw County, Michigan.

C2C is funded by DOE’s Workplace of Vitality Effectivity and Renewable Vitality and managed by the Nationwide Renewable Vitality Laboratory delivered in collaboration with Argonne Nationwide Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley Nationwide Laboratory, Oak Ridge Nationwide Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest Nationwide Laboratory. The World Sources Institute additionally assists with C2C Peer-Studying Cohorts.

Study extra about every alternative at www.nrel.gov/c2c.

Learn the complete C2C annual report.

Courtesy of U.S. DOE.