Grants for Small businesses - Energy

The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses in Idaho for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements. Eligible entities include agricultural producers with at least 50% income from agricultural operations and small businesses in rural areas, meeting specific criteria. The program supports a range of projects, including biomass, geothermal, hydropower, wind, and solar energy systems, as well as energy efficiency upgrades. Applications are accepted year-round, with specific deadlines for fiscal years 2023 and 2024.

This funding opportunity provides $10.6 million for innovative projects that improve floating offshore wind technology, targeting advancements in port infrastructure, transmission systems, and environmental monitoring tools.

This solicitation aims to reduce building dependency on grid electricity, increase energy efficiency of HVAC equipment operating on DC power, decrease burdens – and enhance access – to solar and heat pump adoption, and create business and manufacturing opportunities for those who develop DC HVAC nanogrid modules. The potential technology solution could be a modular system that includes an appropriately-sized PV array and energy storage integrated with a DC HVAC system. Such systems could support cost-effective decarbonization, summer electric demand management, and increased market adoption of clean HVAC electrification while avoiding the complexities of interconnection and stand-alone PV and storage installation, particularly for those in under-resourced communities. These systems could provide the benefits of solar and storage to ratepayers who have limited roof space or cannot afford a larger building-level PV/storage system. The installation would ideally be similar to an HVAC replacement, in that it would not require an inverter, onsite electrician, interconnection agreement, conduits, wiring, electric panel upgrades, or other utility-side requirements. Power from the solar PV and energy storage would be used entirely onsite and would not be exported to the grid. Rather, these systems would gain efficiency benefits from direct DC connections among the solar PV, storage, and HVAC equipment. Projects under this initiative could also eliminate or reduce building HVAC load during peak hours in summer months, improving reliability on the grid. The unit would typically be powered by solar PV and energy storage, except when either solar or stored energy is unavailable; at those times, the HVAC would use an AC/DC converter to be powered by the grid. The HVAC could continue operation uninterrupted during a grid outage when there is adequate solar and storage power available to meet the HVAC system’s load. Funded projects must develop and demonstrate the following technologies in existing buildings: ·       DC-powered HVAC equipment that directly uses onsite solar generated electricity; ·       Energy and/or thermal storage integrated into the system to improve cost effectiveness; and ·                A transfer switch incorporated into the module to isolate generation equipment from the grid and simplify installation. Projects must fall within one of the following project groups: ·       Group 1: Residential DC HVAC Nanogrid; and ·       Group 2: Commercial DC HVAC Nanogrid.

The Budget Act of 2022 (Senate Bill 178, Skinner) and Government Code section 12100.140 et seq. established an Export Training program within GO-Biz. The program is one-time funding for competitive grants to service providers to develop or scale export training programs and curricula. Respondents to this Request for Proposal (“RFP”) must demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and ability to provide such training. The key purpose of this program is to fund export training programming that supports California small business owners, provides access to export services for underserved businesses, advances immigrant integration and supports immigrant entrepreneurs, and includes training programs in languages other than English wherever possible. Additionally, this program may consider funding export training programs that are aimed at developing an export-capable workforce should there be sufficient program funding. Organizations are strongly encouraged to collaborate on applications and to utilize each other's resources effectively. Program Objectives:• Equip new-to-export businesses with comprehensive knowledge of global markets and essential international trade knowledge.• Provide ongoing assistance to current exporters, aiding them in sustaining and broadening their presence in foreign markets.• Cultivate a fresh cohort of businesses eligible for the California State Trade Expansion Program, preparing for participation in export promotion activities, including trade shows.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for universities, businesses, and organizations to develop and implement innovative technologies that convert carbon dioxide into useful products, helping to combat climate change and promote sustainability.

This program provides funding to commercial property owners and managers in Boulder to create affordable spaces for small businesses, particularly those owned by women and minorities, helping them thrive in the community.

DOE is seeking input from universities, national laboratories, industry, and international entities regarding future work scopes for its major NE-funded research programs. This input includes research ideas, information, comments, feedback, and recommendations. All responses should be submitted via NEUP.gov as per the attached instructions. Eligible applicants include nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, private and public institutions of higher education, for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses. The grant aims to gather comprehensive input to guide the Office of Nuclear Energy's competitive research and development efforts.

This project will develop technical and economic assessments of storing and retrieving hydrogen blends and/or pure hydrogen as well as California-specific decision-making tools, risk mitigation strategies, market and policy recommendations, and community engagement approaches related to those facilities.

Regional Scale Collaboration to Facilitate a Domestic Critical Minerals Future: Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Initiative The planned Research and Development will provide a regional scale understanding of critical minerals prospectivity and provides insight into the potential materials that may be sourced from domestic secondary and unconventional feedstocks across the United States. The work will contribute to the development of a framework that addresses economic and supply chain barriers, leads to pilot scale demos, and broaden scope to include advanced carbon or critical mineral bearing material products.

This program provides funding to nonprofit organizations and small businesses in Michigan to enhance training and education for the clean energy workforce while improving access to support services for participants.

The California Climate Crisis Act (AB 1279, 2022) established targets to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 85% below 1990 levels and reach carbon neutrality by 2045. Supporting this legislation, the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) 2022 Scoping Plan specifies that carbon removal activities such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) are new approaches that will need to be deployed to help achieve these GHG emissions reduction goals. Carbon dioxide (CO2) utilization is a promising approach in facilitating adoption of carbon capture and carbon removal while partially diverting the need for long term transportation and underground storage of CO2. Current CO2 utilization technologies are at an early stage of development and bear technical, economic, and market uncertainty. The carbon footprint associated with the energy consumption required to convert CO2 into value-added products prevents large-scale deployment of these technologies. The purpose of this solicitation is to improve the energy efficiency of innovative approaches and processes for manufacturing commodities using CO2 captured from industrial operations burning fossil gas. The goal is to decarbonize difficult-to-abate industrial fossil gas use via carbon dioxide utilization to create value-added products.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for U.S. universities, national laboratories, and industry to conduct innovative research in nuclear energy, with a focus on advancing technology and promoting collaboration while benefiting disadvantaged communities.

This funding opportunity provides up to $75,000 to early-stage clean tech and clean energy companies in New Jersey to support research and development projects that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for projects that advance the development and testing of wave energy technology, targeting distributed, community, and utility applications in the United States.

This grant provides financial support to nonprofit organizations focused on empowering low- and moderate-income communities and underserved populations in New England and parts of New York.

The City of Pittsburg Façade Improvement Grant Program aims to spur that investment opportunity by offering up to $10,000 for facade improvements to qualified businesses all across the community. Donor Name: City of Pitsburg State: California City: Pitsburg Type of Grant: Grant | Reimbursement Deadline: 06/30/2024 Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: The City of Pittsburg recognizes the importance of investing in its local businesses to help them thrive. These businesses are the heart and soul of the Pittsburg community and are incubators of opportunity and creativity. Businesses with storefronts greatly benefit from investment on those parts of the building that are most visible to the public and face publicly accessible areas such as streets and sidewalks. Investments in these façades provide a number of benefits that include more inviting storefronts, improvements to neighborhood characteristics, reinvestment into older buildings, and more potential foot traffic. The City of Pitsburg is providing small businesses with the opportunity to apply for grants up to $10,000 for façade improvements. The City will be awarding grants each worth up to $10,000 to reimburse expenditures per applicant, from a budget of $30,000. Any additional work above the $10,000 threshold is the responsibility of the applicant. The purpose of these funds is specifically for the enhancement and beautification of public-facing building façades that will improve the image and characteristics of the building, the business, and the City and will create an inviting experience that will mutually benefit the business, its customers, and the Pitsburg community. These funds can be used for the following: Signage Awnings Exterior paint (including an -graffiti exterior paint and coatings) Architectural treatments Stucco, cladding, and/or siding repair Windows Front Entrance Doors Exterior lighting which provides or highlights architectural features Planter boxes Bicycle Racks Other enhancements determined by the City in its sole discretion to enhance the aesthetic value of the building. Eligibility Criteria  The City is seeking to help those businesses with storefronts that would provide the maximum return on investment for the City, while realizing the greatest amount of long-lasting benefits to the business. Businesses must meet the following qualifications. Business must be operating within Pittsburg city limits. Business must have an active City of Pittsburg Business License. Business, and the property where business is located, must have no outstanding, active Code Enforcement cases or building violation cases. Business must be a brick-and-mortar operation with a public-facing storefront. Home-based businesses are ineligible. Shopping Centers with 5 or less tenants are eligible. A property-owner-led application is highly encouraged to create a uniform project, but individual tenants can apply also. Business applying for or located within the structure and/or center to be improved through grant funds may not sell tobacco, alcohol, and/or cannabis products or adult materials. For more information, visit City of Pittsburg.

This grant provides matching funds to commercial property owners and businesses in specific zoning districts of Libertyville, Illinois, to improve the appearance and condition of their buildings and sites.

The Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize is a grant opportunity for creative individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses to address challenges in the lithium-ion battery recycling supply chain. The goal of this phased prize competition is to develop and demonstrate processes that can capture 90% of all discarded or spent lithium-ion batteries in the United States for recovery of key materials. The continuation of the prize will award a total of $7.4 million in cash prizes and voucher support over the next 3 years. This includes a new competition track for new competitors and previous participants, as well as additional support for Phase III winning teams. Breakthrough, a new public contest, aims to incentivize innovative solutions from battery industry entrepreneurs that align with the prize goal. Up to $2.4 million in cash prizes and voucher funding will be awarded to up to 10 winners. Winners will also have the opportunity to advance to Phase IV of the competition. Qualified lithium-ion battery recyclers and second-life testing organizations are also being sought as Evaluation Entities for Phase IV. More information about becoming an Evaluation Entity can be found on the American-Made website.

The City of West Haven is accepting applications for its American Rescue Plan Act Storefront Façade Improvement Grant Program. Donor Name: City of West Haven State: Connecticut County: New Haven County (CT) Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 07/15/2024 Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: The storefront facade program will provide funds to businesses to enhance the character and attractiveness of the downtown area and other public shopping and pedestrian areas, as well as to provide added safety measures such as additional lighting to these areas. Successful applications will preserve or upgrade existing storefront facades to improve West Haven’s overall aesthetic and vibrance. Uses of Funds Storefront/exterior improvements to facade  New windows  Doors  Awnings  Painting  Signage attached to facade  Siding, brick appointing  Exterior Lighting attached to façade  HVAC installation and/or upgrades  Outdoor dining and patio space (must be affixed to building, no furniture) Grant Information  Eligible applicants can apply for up to $10,000. Ineligible Grant Uses Work that has been completed prior to the execution of an agreement with the Department of Community Development and Planning are not eligible to participate in the program.  New construction  Temporary, portable, or non-permanent improvements  NEON SIGNS  The following improvements are not eligible under this program:  Interior improvements  Roofs, not part of a larger project  Removal of architecturally significant features  Other improvements not included in this list that are deemed ineligible by the City Property Owner/Business Eligibility Criteria  For-profit businesses must meet the definition of a small business, meaning:  Have no more than 50 full time employees, and  Are a small business concern as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act (which includes, among other requirements, that the business is independently owned and operated, and is not dominant in its field of operation). Project Eligibility Criteria Criteria complies with the most recent US Treasury Guidelines and has been reviewed by our partners at UHY.  Business must be located within the City of West Haven  Business must have less than 50 FTE’s  Improvements must comply with City building and zoning standards. Proposed improvements may be required to receive SHPO approval to ensure any historical features are preserved or considered in the renovation Business must address how the requested funds will be used and relate to the Program objectives  Improvements are limited to the explicit uses listed above  Business must be in good standing with the City of West Haven AND the Connecticut Department of Revenue Service (ie. Fully permitted, up-to-date on taxes)  Business cannot have received alternate Federal, State, or Local funding to cover the        same intended costs  Business cannot have any pending litigation or legal action  Projects concerning outdoor dining are subject to proper permitting and zoning requirements  Note: If Business leases space to which intended capital improvements are to be made, Copy of  Lease and Prior written approval of Lessor will be Required. Additionally, Only Businesses that  Own Property or Businesses with lease term extending through June 2026 will be eligible. For more information, visit CWHC.

Background The mission of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) is to minimize the environmental impacts of fossil fuels while working towards net-zero emissions. FECMs programs use research, development, demonstration, and deployment approaches to advance technologies to reduce carbon emissions and other environmental impacts of fossil fuel production and use, particularly the hardest-to-decarbonize applications in the electricity and industrial sectors. Priority areas of technology work include point-source carbon capture, hydrogen with carbon management, methane emissions reduction, critical mineral production, and carbon dioxide removal to address the accumulated CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. FECM recognizes that global decarbonization through carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is essential to meeting climate goals and works to engage with international colleagues to leverage expertise in these areas. FECM is also committed to improving the conditions of communities impacted by the legacy of fossil fuel use and to supporting a healthy economic transition that accelerates the growth of good-paying jobs. The Office of Carbon Managements mission is to facilitate a just and environmentally sustainable transition toward a net-zero carbon economy. This mission focuses on the capture, storage, and containment of carbon dioxide. We address emissions associated with the power and industrial sectors, as well as legacy emissions in the atmosphere, and we seek to permanently store and/or convert carbon dioxide (CO2) to reduce negative climate impacts. Our actions center on investments in technological readiness and analysis. Our department researches a portfolio of carbon management approaches, with an emphasis on facilitating development of approaches that meet our technical, justice, and sustainability requirements for commercialization. Our goals are to improve their performance, reduce costs, and scale the deployment of the technologies to decarbonize the power and industrial sectors and to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The Office of Carbon Management comprises two major offices: The Office of Carbon Management Technologies leads and invests in research, development, demonstration, and deployment across five divisions: Hydrogen with Carbon Management, Carbon Transport and Storage, Carbon Dioxide Removal, Carbon Conversion, and Point Source Carbon Capture. The Office of Policy, Analysis and Engagement leads in strategic activities and international and intra-governmental coordination across three divisions: Policy and Analysis, Engagement, and Federal Partnerships. FECMs Office of Resource Sustainability (ORS) administers the Departments technological development and approaches for reducing the environmental impacts of our historical and continued use of fossil fuels. Reducing the environmental impacts of fossil fuel infrastructure and reducing emissions throughout the supply chain is critical to achieving net-zero emissions. ORS supports a just transition to clean energy while minimizing the environmental impacts in sectors where fossil fuels are difficult to avoid. These goals are accomplished through policy, research, innovation, outreach, and stewardship. ORSs Office of Research Development advances technologies and solutions to reduce the environmental impacts and emissions associated with fossil energy development, use, transportation, and storage. Its Office of Regulation, Analysis, and Engagement regulates the import and export of natural gas, conducts analysis of fossil fuel and carbon markets, assesses policy and regulatory proposals, leads outreach for domestic and international engagements, and addresses environmental and energy justice impacts for communities most impacted by fossil fuel development and use. DOE will not accept questions at this time regarding issuance of the FOA. Details on how to submit questions and comments will be provided in the FOA, if issued. Technical Overview and Objectives Program Area 1: Carbon Management Technologies The U.S. energy portfolio and U.S. economy depend heavily on fossil fuels and other sources of GHG emissions today, spanning sectors like power generation, industry, heat and transportation fuels. Advancing clean energy, carbon capture with durable storage in both the power and industrial sectors and CDR are imperative for achieving net-zero GHG goals. FECM envisions enabling the demonstration and ultimately deployment of technologies for carbon management and mitigating challenges of fossil fuel use in a just and sustainable way, with the goal of achieving net-zero GHG emissions by mid-century. As previously stated, one of the key missions of the Office of Fossil Energy is to, minimize the environmental impacts of fossil fuels while working towards net-zero emissions. To accomplish this mission, it is imperative that FECM provide outreach and education to many stakeholders, including the general public in order to allow them to make educated choices about energy. Towards this end, FECM seeks to partner with organizations with similar goals to help improve understanding and develop cooperative action on CDRs by reaching out to additional international and national organizations to conduct a series of co-related tasks that mutually serve the mission of the public as well as FECM. These Areas of Interest are described below: Areas of Interest Area 1: Carbon Management Technology Consultation, Analysis and Cooperation Engage recognized experts in Fossil Energy and Carbon Management to provide advice and assistance to decision makers, stakeholders, state and local government officials, non-profit organizations, universities, non-governmental organizations, and the public as appropriate. These consultations could involve face-to-face meetings and discussions with the selected experts. Conduct analyses and prepare studies and reports on selected topics by Fossil Energy and Carbon Management experts to provide independent and unbiased perspectives on critical issues. These studies and reports would promote greater understanding of Carbon Management domestically and internationally. The information created will be used at seminars, conferences and workshops attended by various stakeholders, as well as disseminated domestically and internationally, as appropriate. Area 2: Carbon Management Technology Outreach Develop outreach materials that are custom tailored to be readily understood by domestic and international audiences so that its relevance is clear. These materials may include fact sheets, technical papers, flyers, briefing materials, displays, videos, and other products. In addition, information will be acquired from key Fossil Energy and Carbon Management-related activities and projects and added to a global outreach data base that can be used to target specific sectors of the public that may desire education on Carbon Management issues and developments. Area 3: Carbon Management Technology Technical Conference and Workshop Support Support efforts to increase the capacity of decision makers, stakeholders and the public to understand, develop and deploy Fossil Energy and Carbon Management Technologies. These programs will include conferences, workshops, fora or other events that benefit the public by providing insight and education. Organize and conduct technical workshops or seminars focused on specific Fossil Energy and Carbon Management-related topics (like identifying/eliminating key barriers to CDR deployment, assessing the impacts to Carbon Management of new/proposed policies or laws, etc.) and related issues each year in the U.S. These conferences should include speakers and participation by qualified, objective experts. As appropriate, summaries of the findings, outcomes, and/or discussions will be disseminated to the public. Support international Fossil Energy and Carbon Management-related conferences to exchange information in order to highlight developments, projects and deployment of Carbon Management in the U.S. and around the world. The audience would be domestic and international industry and government decision makers, technology developers, educators, policymakers, the public and other stakeholders. As appropriate, summaries of the findings, outcomes, and/or discussions will be provided to the public. Identify high level speakers from government and industry to convene on key technology, policy, regulatory and financial issues. Support U.S. efforts to participate in and assist the Carbon Management programs being pursued by organizations such as the World Energy Council (WEC), International Energy Agency (IEA) and the G-8 Energy Ministers. Program Area 2: Domestic and International Oil, Natural Gas, Methane Hydrates, Hydrogen, and Critical Minerals The DOEs Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Managements Office of Resource Sustainability (ORS) administers the Departments technological development and approaches for reducing the environmental impacts of our historical and continued use of fossil fuels. Reducing the environmental impacts of fossil fuel infrastructure and reducing emissions throughout the supply chain is critical to achieving net-zero emissions. ORS supports a just transition to clean energy while minimizing the environmental impacts in sectors where fossil fuels are difficult to avoid. These goals are accomplished through policy, research, innovation, outreach, and stewardship. ORS advances technologies and solutions to reduce the environmental impacts and emissions associated with fossil energy development, use, transportation, and storage. This includes reducing emissions in the production, transportation, and storage of oil and natural gas; developing advanced remediation technologies for produced water, abandoned mines, abandoned wells, and the conversion of methane to useful products; and improving the economics and environmental performance of critical minerals extraction, processing, use, and disposal. ORS also regulates the import and export of natural gas, conducts analysis of fossil fuel and carbon markets, assesses policy and regulatory proposals, leads outreach for domestic and international engagements, and addresses environmental and energy justice impacts for communities most impacted by fossil fuel development and use. ORS areas of interest are described as follows. Areas of Interest Area 1: Oil, Natural Gas, Hydrogen, and Critical Minerals Consultation, Analysis, and Cooperation Engage recognized experts in global oil, natural gas, hydrogen, and critical minerals to provide advice and assistance to Government and private decision makers, U.S. industry representatives, non-governmental organization (NGO) leaders, and other members of the public who make critical decisions about global oil, natural gas, hydrogen and critical minerals policy. These consultations could involve face-to-face meetings and discussions with the selected global oil, natural gas, hydrogen, and critical minerals experts. Develop market analyses, technical studies, in-person and virtual workshops, and stakeholder events for policy level officials, industry leaders, NGOs, universities, non-profit organizations, and public figures. These events will provide independent and unbiased perspectives on topics associated with oil and natural gas and clean energy development such as mitigating environmental impacts, greenhouse gas (GHG)/methane emissions, natural gas markets and trade, petrochemicals, hydrogen production and transportation, critical minerals, and local and community impacts of energy projects. As appropriate, summaries of the findings, outcomes, and/or discussions from the events will be provided to the public. Support in-person and virtual workshops and events to promote DOE studies and papers on technical, regulatory, climate (e.g., carbon and methane management), environment, community, and/or economic issues related to oil, natural gas, hydrogen, and critical minerals for stakeholders in the US and other countries. Support ongoing Working (WG), Technical (TG), and Stakeholder (SG) Advisory Groups, including those of the Greenhouse Gas Supply Chain Emissions Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MMRV) Framework, through coordinating and implementing in-person or virtual meetings; recording meeting attendance; drafting and distributing meeting notes to include documenting and tracking recommendations and action items; assisting in developing PowerPoint summary materials for briefings; and establishing and maintaining international project coordination online portals for communication and disseminating and receiving information from the WG/TG/SGs; and coordinating information flow among the WG/TG/SGs. Area 2: Oil, Natural Gas, Methane Hydrates, Hydrogen, and Critical Minerals Bilateral and Regional Initiatives and Activities Assist in the organization and implementation of meetings, conferences, workshops, and task force related events on oil, natural gas, methane hydrates, hydrogen, and critical minerals technologies with global partners including foreign governments, companies, universities, and NGOs. These meetings, conferences, workshops, and task force events benefit the public by allowing officials in the U.S. Government and other governments, U.S. and foreign industry leaders, and NGO leaders to exchange information about advanced technologies and best practices in oil, natural gas, methane hydrates, hydrogen, and critical minerals development. Examples of such ORS events are the US India Low Emission Gas Task Force (LEGTF) under the US India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP); Mozambique Initiative; and Greenhouse Gas Supply Chain Emissions Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MMRV) Framework. As appropriate, summaries of the findings, outcomes, and/or discussions from these events will be provided to the public, including through webpages. For the above-listed and similar initiatives and activities, identify and recruit appropriate public and private sector experts for speaking roles and for attendance. DOE may issue a FOA as described in the NOI; may issue a FOA that is significantly different than the FOA described in the NOI; or may not issue a FOA at all.