Sent by Email, May 18, 2022
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a series of announcements involving its Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) offices. In case you missed them, read on for a short summary of an exciting day for clean energy.
- EERE Funds 109 Small Businesses to Tackle Clean Energy Challenges. EERE will provide nearly $21.8 million in federal funding for 109 new projects in 27 states through the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.
- DOE Offers Targeted Technical Assistance for Manufacturers in Former Coal Communities. The Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program will help small- to medium-sized manufacturers employ carbon-reduction retrofits, convert their facilities, or build new facilities to produce or recycle advanced energy technologies.
- DOE Updates Mobile Home Efficiency Standards to Lower Household Energy Bills. New efficiency standards for mobile homes will help consumers save hundreds of dollars on their annual utility bills and slash carbon emissions by 80 million metric tons, which is equivalent to the energy use of over 10 million homes in one year.
- DOE Announces $15 Billion in Energy Savings Through Better Buildings Initiative. Since 2011, the Better Buildings Initiative has helped private-sector partners achieve a cumulative $15.3 billion in energy savings. These savings represent 155 million metric tons of carbon emissions, or roughly the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by 20 million homes in one year.
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From The White House Briefing Room: White House Releases Technical Assistance Guide to Help Communities Unlock Resources From Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Today, the White House released a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law technical assistance guide to help state, local, Tribal and territorial governments navigate, access, and deploy infrastructure resources that will build a better America. The Biden Administration has identified over $700 million in dedicated funding across more than 65 technical assistance programs. In addition to highlighting federal government technical assistance, the White House Infrastructure Implementation Team has engaged with a range of external stakeholders including, philanthropic, labor and nonprofit organizations, to highlight available nongovernmental resources and create a pipeline to assist communities in quickly and equitably accessing and deploying federal infrastructure funding.
Over 90% of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s historic funding will be deployed by non-federal partners. In the past, too many communities have lacked the resources to apply for and deploy transformative infrastructure opportunities. This guide, building on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Guidebook and Rural Playbook, highlights programs that help communities navigate programs and resources that can help them deliver infrastructure projects. While some of these programs offer hands-on and intensive planning and delivery support for communities, others are more self-directed resources and tools such as webinars and websites, or funding that can support project planning.
Drought conditions persist across much of the country and both livestock and crop producers face losses and continuing challenges for their operations. This webinar will cover USDA emergency assistance programs to help producers cope with losses as well as on-going conservation programs to help producers prepare for and manage through drought.
Zach Ducheneaux, administrator of the Agriculture Department’s Farm Service Agency, told The Hagstrom Report today, May 3, that he still hopes the Conservation Reserve Program will grow to 27 million acres by 2023, the maximum allowed by Congress under the 2018 farm bill, even though the current statistics on the program make that goal look difficult. The issue is important because the Biden administration has said that land in the CRP sequesters carbon, helping American agriculture contribute to efforts to mitigate climate change.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb — Power tools replace textbooks which is fitting for students learning to wire the world. “They designed and built solar panels, designed and built mounts,” explained teacher Alex Kemnitz. Grand Island Senior High’s alternative energy program attracted the attention of future engineer Mason Messmer. “The field I want to go into deals with solar panels and wind and this will really help with my future,” the high school junior said. 
