Biden–Harris Administration Announces $5 Million to Strengthen Domestic Manufacturing Capabilities & Support Small-and Medium-Sized Manufacturers – CleanTechnica

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Funding from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda Supports 37 New Small-and Medium-sized Manufacturers to Improve Energy Efficiency, Lower Costs, Increase Productivity, and Reduce Industrial Emissions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced nearly $5 million from the Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC) Implementation Grants program for 37 small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) across the country to implement improvements at facilities that will save energy and reduce carbon pollution, to advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to tackle the climate crisis. DOE also reopened the program for more applications, ensuring SMMs can continue to apply for grants throughout the next year, and announced nine additional assessment providers whose eligible clients can apply for implementation grants. With funding from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and managed by the Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains Office (MESC), the IAC Implementation Grants program provides up to $300,000 per manufacturer to implement recommendations made by DOE and other qualified energy assessments. The projects are expected to abate about17 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year, equivalent to about 1,700 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles’ annual emissions. Today’s announcements reinforce the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to revitalize American manufacturing, create good-paying jobs in communities across the nation, advance energy and environmental justice through the President’s Justice40 Initiative, and meet the President’s ambitious goal of a net-zero economy by 2050.

“Under the leadership of President Biden, our nation’s manufacturing sector has added nearly 800,000 jobs and the Investing in America agenda is helping to ensure even more hardworking Americans are equipped to power the clean energy revolution,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The Biden-Harris Administration is setting up the clean energy workforce for success, making training opportunities more accessible all while helping reduce the harmful carbon emissions that are polluting our air.”

Industrial decarbonization presents a vital opportunity to transform industrial systems to improve energy and environmental justice. President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is providing unprecedented tools—such as DOE’s IAC Implementation Grants program—to support decarbonization solutions critical to transforming the nation’s industrial sector and optimizing energy management systems. The grants announced today will help SMMs, which comprise more than 90% of the nation’s manufacturing base, leverage federal support and local expertise to identify cost-effective opportunities to improve energy efficiency, increase competitiveness, and reduce emissions.

For more than four decades, the IAC Program, managed by MESC, has provided more than 21,000 energy assessments at SMMs and typically identify more than $150,000 in potential annual energy savings opportunities for every manufacturer. DOE announced nine additional energy assessment providers will be available to SMMs, which will be eligible for funding through MESC’s competitive IAC Implementation Grants program.

This round of 37 implementation grants will receive $4.8 million in grant funding that will be matched by $5.9 million in industry investment. The grants support a wide variety of projects, including onsite solar, battery storage technology, and waste heat recovery system installations; improvements for lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; electrifying industrial equipment and fleets; and more. Fourteen projects will benefit disadvantaged communities, underscoring President Biden’s commitment to ensure that the communities most in need are able to benefit from the transition to a clean energy future. This program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set the goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of Federal climate, clean energy, and other covered investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

Selection for award negotiations is not a commitment by DOE to issue an award or provide funding. Before funding is issued, DOE, its partnership intermediary ENERGYWERX, and the applicants will undergo a negotiation process, and DOE and ENERGYWERX may cancel negotiations and rescind the selection for any reason during that time.

Learn more about the grants here.

Grant Funding Opportunity Open for Year-Round Applications

The IAC Implementation Grants funding opportunity is a rolling opportunity that is currently open with a total initial funding envelope of $80 million. Eligible SMMs may submit applications for implementation grants at any time throughout the next year (as funds are available) and DOE will review quarterly. The next application deadline is March 31, 2024. Applications will immediately reopen on April 1, 2024 for both manufacturers seeking grants and assessment providers seeking qualification as “IAC-equivalent” with a following deadline of June 30, 2024. To learn more about the application process and to apply, click here.

Starting April 1^st 2024, the IAC Implementation Grants funding opportunity will update its grant funding structure allowing for eligible SMMs to receive a up to $300,000 of grant funding per funding round, rather than per entity. Eligible SMMs that have already received $300,000 in past funding rounds are eligible to apply for additional grant funding to implement eligible new projects. (Note: for SMMs who apply for an award that puts them over $300,000 of total grant funding, the new application must focus solely on assessment recommendations that have not been the focus in previous awards.)

Lastly, the IAC Program team will continue holding monthly “office hour” sessions to answer questions about the implementation grant program and application. To register for the next session, which will be held on April 16, 2024, at 1:00 pm ET, please click here.

Click here to inquire about receiving a no-cost IAC assessment, here for more information on receiving a CHP/Onsite Energy TAP assessment, and here to learn more about qualified third-party assessors. MESC is working with ENERGYWERX to execute the IAC Implementation Grant program. DOE is working with ENERGYWERX in a collaboration made possible through an innovative Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA) set up by the DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT). This agreement enables ENERGYWERX to broaden DOE’s engagement with innovative organizations and non-traditional partners, facilitating the rapid development, scaling, and deployment of clean energy solutions.

Learn more about the MESC mission to strengthen and secure manufacturing and energy supply chains needed to modernize the nation’s energy infrastructure and support a clean and equitable energy transition.