Press release from the U.S. Department of Energy:

In support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that it has selected 12 local governments and tribes to receive over $31 million in funding through the Communities Sparking Investments in Transformative Energy (C-SITE) funding opportunity. Under DOE’s new Local Government Energy Program, C-SITE supports the implementation of high-impact clean energy projects in disadvantaged communities, energy communities, and small- and medium-sized jurisdictions.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring that every community in the country is able to take advantage of the benefits of the clean energy economy,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “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.”

“The James A. Henry building was already going to operate as a health clinic and early childhood education center for the people of the Westside, and now it will also be an energy efficient resilience hub,” said Chattanooga, Tennessee Mayor Tim Kelly. “This grant was only possible because of our Climate Action Plan and the hard work of the Chattanooga Housing Authority. I want to thank the Department of Energy for recognizing the need for investment on the Westside.”

C-SITE was launched with a goal to fund projects that spark additional investments in communities and deliver direct benefits to workers and residents, such as workforce agreements and protections, reduced energy costs, improved air quality, and improved quality of life. Selected communities are investing in variety of clean energy approaches and technology areas including building efficiency and electrification, clean transportation, energy infrastructure upgrades, microgrid development and deployment, renewable energy, and workforce development.

In addition to grant funding, selected recipients will receive technical assistance to support project implementation. Notably, selectees will be able to receive a Community Energy Fellow, a DOE-sponsored clean energy professional that will be located in the host community for 18 months to help build capacity and support project outcomes.

“We are thrilled by this opportunity to assist our underserved residents and communities with energy conservation and electrification improvements,” said Hennepin County Housing Program Manager Mike Jensen in Minnesota. “This project will reduce energy costs, improve health outcomes, and help protect families from future energy cost increases and the expected effects of climate change. Alongside our partners Sabathani, the Minneapolis American Indian Center, and the cities of Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park, Hennepin County will be able to preserve housing for residents living in climate vulnerable communities while investing in community renewable energy.”

This first round of 12 selectees will engage over 32 different partners ranging from housing organizations, workforce training centers, and community-based non-profits. The projects selected demonstrate a range of benefits that could be models for other communities including:

• Transforming liabilities into assets, such as turning vacant lots into housing

• Modeling new approaches, such as deploying agrivoltaics in a small rural community

• Reducing operational costs and building resilience, such as creating resilience hubs

• Funding workforce opportunities, such as training unionizing local apprentices for e-bikes maintenance

• Sparking investments, such as creating new business models for municipal or tribally-owned utilities

Learn more about the 12 selectees:

City of Chattanooga, TN will create a community resilience hub by renovating and expanding a closed school to provide employment services, including roof insulation, high performance windows, LED lighting, and an efficient chiller. (Award amount $2,900,000)

Town of Greenville, FL will install agrivoltaics systems, retrofit community buildings with energy-efficient technologies, and host education trainings and workshops to enhance resilience and economic stability. (Award amount: $3,000,000)

Hennepin County, MN will provide residential audits, weatherization, energy efficiency upgrades, and solar installation in disadvantaged communities, and deploy renewable energy on two resilience hubs, while creating opportunities for training and green job creation. (Award amount: $2,500,000)

City of Highland Park, MI will install and maintain 30 solar powered streetlights to improve public safety and make other energy investments to reduce costs and create economic opportunities. (Award amount: $2,500,000)

Hopi Utilities Corporation in Arizona will add a behind-the-meter, grid-tied Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to store excess power from an existing microgrid to build energy resilience, decrease reliance on diesel generators, and reduce high costs of unreliable energy for the Hopi Tribe. (Award amount: $3,400,000)

Native Village of Kotzebue in Northern Alaska, in collaboration with Kotzebue Electric Association, Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corp., Inc., the Northwest Arctic Borough, and Atautchikun, LLC., will invest in local, tribally-produced renewable solar energy and leverage decommissioned wind turbine infrastructure to improve resilience and reduce energy costs. (Award amount: $3,350,000)

City of Milwaukee, WI will develop 25 all electric, Net-Zero Energy Homes on existing vacant lots in three disadvantaged communities using off-site construction of panel systems. (Award amount: $3,400,000)

City of New Orleans, LA will work with Louisiana Green Corps to expand the existing bike share system to provide a reliable, convenient, and affordable public transportation service by and for New Orleanians and train a new generation of e-bike mechanics to service the fleet. (Award amount: $1,700,000)

Orick Community Services District, CA will establish a resilient microgrid with solar and storage to provide reliable power to critical facilities (water pumping station, community hall, fire station, grocery store). (Award amount: $900,000)

Raton Public Service Company in Raton, NM will complete Phase 2 of a municipally-owned utility solar energy initiative by constructing 750kW of solar capacity and installing photovoltaic panels, inverters, and the necessary electrical infrastructure to integrate the expansion into the existing grid. (Award amount: $2,000,000)

Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota will invest in an innovative, behind-the-meter microgrid system to provide electricity for a secondary school complex, building towards a larger cooperative network and energy sovereignty and resilience in rural, tribal communities. (Award amount: $3,150,000)

Region Five Development Commission, MN will provide inclusive clean energy financing to four pre-identified projects rural communities in central Minnesota, including a school solar project and a tribal electric vehicle project. (Award amount: $2,500,000)

For more information, visit the Local Government Energy Program website or email LGEP@hq.doe.gov.