Our Mission: Power a Clean Future Ohio is building momentum now for a clean, prosperous future by equipping local leaders for equitable, community-driven carbon reductions in Ohio. |
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US Department of Transportation Awards $30 Million Dollars to Ohio Cities through the RAISE Grant |
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The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced the recipients of the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants, which aim to promote sustainable transportation initiatives nationwide. Four Ohio cities received funds from the RAISE grants, including Power a Clean Future Ohio (PCFO) and Ohio Mayor’s Alliance (OMA) members Cincinnati, Toledo, and Youngstown. The City of Kent also received funding from the program. The grant program is funded through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a Biden Administration priority that was signed into law in 2021.
“Power a Clean Future Ohio is proud to share the accomplishments of our member communities as they use these funds towards projects that will lower GHG emissions in their community and expand transportation options for their residents. By providing resources to our member communities, such as our Infrastructure Grant Assistance Program, we know Ohio cities will continue to successfully acquire federal funding,” said Cassandra Clevenger, Deputy Director of PCFO.
“Preserving the fiscal stability of their cities is a critical and ongoing challenge for mayors across Ohio, and finding additional funds in local government budgets can be a challenge,” said OMA Executive Director Keary McCarthy. “These federal grants will boost both metro and regional economies, while helping to ensure that mayors’ local infrastructure priorities can be addressed quickly and effectively.”
Read more about the projects in these communities here.
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Local Governments Need Equal Access to Federal Climate Funding |
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PCFO technical team advisors Melanie Nutter and Katherine Lee recently wrote an article that appeared in Bloomberg Law. The article explains the historic and unprecedented impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act on local governments.
The following is an excerpt from the article. You can read the full article here.
Many local governments, especially small- and medium-sized communities, face long-standing challenges in accessing federal funding, and struggle to keep up with dozens of new funding opportunities being announced each week. With limited in-house grant writing expertise, smaller governments have challenges with vetting new grant opportunities, as well as with applying for grants that match their priorities.
Additionally, lengthy grant documents are laden with technical jargon. Staff limitations make it difficult to prepare competitive applications on short timelines, which can tilt the competitive landscape in favor of larger and more well-resourced cities.
While these challenges aren’t new, the amount and pace of new federal funding opportunities shine a bright light on the imbalance. Communities have an opportunity to readily take advantage of this historic investment.
Thankfully, many organizations that serve local governments are well-aware of these challenges, and have begun developing programs that are working to bridge the gap, providing much-needed support for smaller communities to participate and get their fair share.
For example, Power a Clean Future Ohio is a nonprofit organization supported by a diverse coalition of organizations and experts working with 44 cities and counties across Ohio to advance their climate, sustainability, and clean energy goals.
In early 2022, PCFO recognized an opportunity to bring federal dollars to Ohio and to jumpstart sustainability project implementation, launching the Infrastructure Grant Assistance Program (IGAP).
IGAP provides hands-on technical support to communities, offering grant webinars, roundtable discussions, and one-on-one application support—all at no cost to PCFO communities. The program also creates grant snapshots, condensing long notice of funding opportunity documents into short summaries that provide local governments the information they need to act quickly.
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Additional GHG Reduction Fund Program Details Announced |
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Following the announcement of additional details around the Solar for All funding opportunity, last week the U.S. EPA launched two Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) for the remaining $20 billion across two grant competitions under the historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, an Inflation Reduction Act program aimed at achieving the legislation's environmental justice goals.
According to the Biden Administration, "Together, these competitive grant opportunities will mobilize private capital into clean technology projects to create good-paying jobs and lower energy costs for American families, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities, while cutting harmful pollution to protect people’s health and tackle the climate crisis."
The $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund will provide grants to support two-to-three national clean financing institutions, enabling them to partner with the private sector to provide accessible, affordable financing for tens of thousands of clean technology projects nationwide. The $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator will provide grants to support two-to-seven hub nonprofit organizations, enabling them to provide funding and technical assistance to public, quasi-public, not-for-profit, and non-profit community lenders working in low-income and disadvantaged communities—supporting the goal that every community in the country has access to the capital they need to deploy clean technology projects.
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Interstate Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Announced |
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Ohio became the first state in the nation to announce the locations of the new electric vehicle charging stations that will be installed as part of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced that Ohio will award more than $18 million in NEVI funds for 27 electric vehicle fast charging stations along seven interstate corridors, including I-70, I-71, I-74, I-75, I-76, I-77 and I-90. The NEVI funds will be matched with nearly $6 million from private organizations including Pilot Travel Centers, TH Midwest, Francis Energy, Meijer Stores, EVgo Services, ChargeNet Stations and Equilon/Shell.
There are about 53,000 registered electric vehicles in Ohio, which is expected to significantly increase in the coming years. In total, Ohio will receive $140 million in NEVI funds over the next five years to support the installation of EV charging stations across the state. Once charging stations are installed on Ohio's interstates, state routes, and U.S. routes, the remaining funding will be used to install charging stations in other areas.
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PCFO INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT SNAPSHOTS
Federal Funding: Find it here!
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Visit the PCFO IGAP Webinar page to review notes from the BIL Guidebook Introduction, Electric Vehicles, Public Transportation, and Clean Energy and Power webinars. These notes include information on the federal departments’ goals, funding opportunities, and available links to program pages.
If you are interested in applying or need PCFO’s support please contact Cassandra Clevenger, IGAP Coordinator, at cassandra@poweracleanfuture.org with any questions.
Funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Ride and Drive Electric Program aims to address discrete challenges to a convenient, affordable, reliable, secure, and equitable EV charging network by enhancing institutional capacity, encouraging holistic approaches, fostering inclusive and equitable outcomes, and ensuring a world-class customer experience.
Concept papers due: June 16, 2023
Full applications due: July 28, 2023
Brownfields Job Training Grants support programs that recruit, train, and retain a local, skilled workforce by prioritizing unemployed and under-employed residents to obtain the skills and credentials needed for pathways into full-time employment in hazardous and solid waste management and across the larger environmental field.
Application Deadline: August 2, 2023
Created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program aims to fund projects that address the climate crisis by improving the resilience of the surface transportation system, including highways, public transportation, ports, and intercity passenger rail. By funding projects that improve resilience to natural hazards and climate change impacts, thePROTECT Discretionary Grant Program aims to reduce damage and disruption to the transportation system, improve the safety of the traveling public, and improve equity by addressing the needs of disadvantaged communities that are often the most vulnerable to hazards.
Application deadline: August 18, 2023
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing $400 million in grants to incentivize and accelerate the replacement of existing school buses with clean and zero-emissions school buses through the 2023 Clean School Bus (CSB) Grant Program.
Application Deadline: August 22, 2023
Created under the Inflation Reduction Act, the NOAA Climate ResilienceRegional Challenge (Challenge) aims to catalyze equitable adaptation through regional scale collaboration and implementation of adaptation actions that will reduce future damage from weather and climate impacts.
Application Deadline: February 13, 2024
Created under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) provides owners of HUD-assisted multifamily housing with resources to reduce carbon emissions, make utility efficiency improvements, incorporate renewable energy sources, and make properties more resilient against the effects of climate hazards. The GRRP Elements Cohort provides funding for owners to include climate resilience and utility efficiency measures in projects that are already in the process of recapitalization transactions.
Application Deadline: March 28, 2024
Created under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Green and Resilient RetrofitProgram (GRRP) provides owners of HUD-assisted multifamily housing with resources to reduce carbon emissions, make utility efficiency improvements, incorporate renewable energy sources, and make properties more resilient against the effects of climate hazards. The GRRP Leading Edge cohort provides funding to owners with ambitious plans involving carbon reduction, renewable energy generation, use of building materials with lower embodied carbon, and resilience goals through achieving an advanced green certification.
Application Deadline: April 30, 2024
Created under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) provides owners of HUD-assisted multifamily housing with resources to reduce carbon emissions, make utility efficiency improvements, incorporate renewable energy sources, and make properties more resilient against the effects of climate hazards. The GRRP Comprehensive cohort provides funding to properties with a high need for investment in utility efficiency and climate resilience.
Application Deadline: May 30, 2024
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July 25 | 11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET
Third-party companies like Energy Performance Contracts (EPCs) and Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) offer solutions to help housing professionals address decarbonization, adopt new technologies, and exploit funding opportunities. Join this US Department of Energy webinar to learn more.
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July 25 | 2–3:15 p.m. ET
NREL's 'Building with Benefits' webinar series will feature experts in five benefit categories, innovation, and community engagement. Sunny Award winners will also participate in panels to share best practices for developing community solar projects with significant benefits at scale.
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Aug. 8 | 11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET
Heat pumps offer a decarbonization strategy for various building types, providing heating, cooling, and domestic hot water without using fossil fuels. To learn more about using heat pumps for effective decarbonization, building owners can benefit from the insights of multiple building stakeholders. The US Department of Energy webinar highlights the top 5 things building owners need to know.
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Aug. 15 | 11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET
Community solar provides renewable energy for those who cannot install traditional rooftop solar systems. This strategy enhances resilience, workforce development, and cost savings while increasing solar energy accessibility for low- to moderate-income households. Join this webinar to learn more about the benefits of community solar, get resources from the Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), and learn how Better Buildings partners encourage equitable community solar systems.
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Interested in getting started? Join today! |
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PCFO is an expansive, diverse coalition engaging with cities and local governments across the state of Ohio to build a clean future for our communities. Power A Clean Future Ohio is empowering local leaders with tools and resources to create carbon reduction plans and implement them in ways that are achievable, measurable, equitable and economical.
Our coalition of expert organizations wants to share our technical expertise and resources with your community. If your community wants to work on plans to reduce emissions, attract business investment, implement equitable clean energy policy, and reduce costs – contact us today to set up a meeting!
If your business or organization would like to support PCFO, we invite you to join the campaign as a PCFO Partner. Contact us for more details.
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