ARRA Funding Opportunity Deadlines Approach for California Local Government Entities under EECBG and State Energy Program

Posted Dec. 7, 2009

Deadlines are approaching December 14, December 21, and January 12 for various stimulus-funded programs administered by the U.S. Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission pursuant to the Energy Efficiency and Community Block Grant (EECBG) program and the State Energy Program (SEP).

• December 14, applications for competitive grants under the new “Retrofit Ramp Up” and “General Innovation Fund” opportunities as part of the EECBG program are due to the Department of Energy. Given the lead time for submission of a complying application, entities probably need to have their process well underway to be successful.
• The Retrofit Ramp-Up program is to assist with community-wide energy efficiency retrofits; preference will be given to proposals by which multiple local government entities would cooperate. DOE anticipates making grants of between $5 million and $75 million to between 8 and 20 communities nationwide.
• The General Innovation program is for grants of between $1 million and $5 million to between 15 and 60 communities nationwide that were ineligible for funding under EISA ¤ 546 (means local government entities other than states, tribes, cities and counties). DOE wishes to fund projects leveraged with other funds that will contribute to transitioning local energy conservation and efficiency and reducing GHG emissions.
• On December 21, applications for SEP funds are due to the California Energy Commission under its Energy Efficiency Program to allocate $95 million statewide.The CEC has made clear that it will only accept applications from entities that already filed a Notice of Intent under the appropriate program area by the October 30, 2009 deadline, but entities interested in partnering with those who have already filed such a Notice may register through its website.
• On January 12, applications by qualifying “small” cities and counties are due to the California Energy Commission, the state agency responsible for administering EECBG funds for these entities.

Dec. 14 and January 12 - EECBG Grant Applications to DOE and CEC:

Background. Under the Stimulus Bill (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA), the Energy Efficiency and Community Block Grant (EECBG) Program appropriated $3.2 billion in grants nationwide for energy efficiency and conservation purposes. $2.8 billion of this amount was allocated pursuant to a “formula” specified by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) allocating specified percentages nationwide to states, cities, counties and tribes. ARRA and EISA further specified that cities with populations over 35,000 and counties with populations over 200,000 would receive direct grants from the Department of Energy while small cities and counties would receive grants from a designated state entity — in California’s case, the California Energy Commission (CEC). California “large” cities and counties have received or are scheduled to receive, in the aggregate, $302 million directly pursuant to the program, and the CEC has developed guidelines, with public input, for the distribution of up to $35.5 million to “small” cities and counties. The December 14 and January 12 deadlines relate to the final EECBG funds to be allocated — those for small cities and counties as administered by the CEC (January 12), and those for ineligible local government entities as administered by the DOE (December 14).

• December 14 - Direct Applications to Department of Energy for “Retrofit Ramp-Up” and Ineligible Entities Grant Programs Due

  The Department of Energy’s present Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) would allocate the remaining $454 million under the EECBG program — $390 million nationwide under the “Retrofit Ramp-Up” program and up to $64 million under the “General Innovation Fund” program to assist ineligible units of local government. Applications must be submitted through www.grants.gov, and due to necessary lead time for this process, applicants would almost certainly need to have taken the preliminary steps to receive stimulus funds through this or some other program to be able to complete the application process at this point.

• January 12 — Applications to the California Energy Commission by Small Cities and Counties

  After a series of workshops earlier this year where Commission staff solicited comment as to possible allocation schemes for funding designated for small cities and counties, the CEC adopted Guidelines providing for distribution based upon population and unemployment within each eligible community. Applications must be submitted pursuant to an Application Manual and must be focused on Direct Equipment Purchases, Energy Efficiency Projects, or Municipal Financing Programs in cooperation with a larger jurisdiction. Funds for each eligible community are already designated pursuant to the Guidelines and Manual, but may not be allocated if the community does not submit an application.

December 21 - State Energy Program Applications Due for Entities that Have Already Submitted Notices of Intent

CEC plans to award up to $95 million to local jurisdictions, nonprofits, and private entities, or combinations of the three, under one or more of three separate funding SEP programs. Under the California Comprehensive Residential Building Retrofit Program, consortia of local governments, utilities, and other local public entities and private entities may propose projects for improved residential energy efficiency in existing structures. Under the Municipal and Commercial Building Targeted Retrofit Program, public or private partnerships may propose targeted best practices for energy efficiency in existing municipal or commercial buildings. Under the Municipal Financing Program, public agencies may receive financial assistance to develop local assessment districts for energy efficiency improvements by residential or commercial building owners. As noted above, the CEC will only accept applications from entities that already filed a Notice of Intent under the appropriate program area, but entities interested in partnering with those who have already filed such a Notice may register through the CEC’s website.