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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Cincinnati: a leader in local climate action |
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Mayor Aftab Pureval, Councilwoman Meeka Owens, and Sustainability Manager Oliver Kroner recently shared how Cincinnati became a leader in local climate action, and the benefits of their partnership with Power A Clean Future Ohio! Watch the videos here.
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Sandusky in the Spotlight |
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Last week, Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Sandusky to celebrate the $24.5 million RAISE Grant awarded for the Route 6 Connectivity Project & Sandusky Bay Pathway. Secretary Buttigieg was joined by US Senator Rob Portman, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur and local officials to lift up the grant that is the direct result of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Check out this quick recap video with a few of our favorite moments!
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Advocating for Energy Justice and Resilience in Infrastructure Spending
Last week, the Ohio Environmental Council and PCFO provided written comments on the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) plans to administer federal funding for electrical grid resilience programs. The OEC urged the PUCO to implement grid-strengthening funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) with transparency and equity. The AEP Ohio blackouts this summer suggest the grid in some parts of Ohio, especially those serving BIPOC and low-income communities in Central Ohio, are less able to manage high demand. A recent filing by FirstEnergy also reported grids in urban and rural areas of Northeast Ohio have outdated electrical infrastructure. The OEC’s comments reminded the Commission of its mandate to correct these inequities and suggested prioritizing IIJA funds to currently underserved communities. PCFO also encouraged the Commission to be mindful of energy justice, emphasizing that equitable, community-driven solutions are a critical method of reducing carbon emissions and ensuring resilience.
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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 Sarah Spence, IGAP Coordinator, at sarah@ohcef.org with any questions.
The Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) has issued a request for information (RFI) to understand how they can develop a secure online platform to identify and make community solar subscriptions with verified savings more accessible for households participating in government-run low-income support programs.
The Community Geothermal Heating and Cooling Design and Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will fund projects that help communities design and deploy geothermal district heating and cooling systems, create related workforce training, and identify and address environmental justice concerns. The overall FOA objective is to support the formation of U.S. community coalitions that will develop community geothermal systems that supply at least 25% of the overall community heating or heating and cooling demand in communities where current fuel use results in increased greenhouse gas emissions. An overarching goal is to support community coalitions seeking to deploy geothermal systems that can reduce the disproportionate shares of energy costs and environmental impacts to underserved populations in a diverse set of communities.
Are you looking to grow clean energy jobs in your community? The Advancing Equity Through Workforce Partnerships funding opportunity will provide grants to develop collaborative workforce programs that will facilitate the rapid deployment of solar energy technologies while supporting an inclusive workforce with opportunities for union membership. This opportunity will enable more members of disadvantaged communities and energy justice populations to pursue careers in the solar energy industry.
Has a part of your community been cut off from a previous transportation project? The Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program is the first-ever Federal program dedicated to reconnecting communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by transportation infrastructure. The program provides technical assistance and grant funding for planning and capital construction to address infrastructure barriers, restore community connectivity, and improve peoples’ lives.
Administered through the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $1B to carry out activities to improve the resilience, safety, reliability, and availability of energy and provide environmental protection from adverse impacts of energy generation in rural and remote communities with populations of 10,000 or less. Eligible projects may include: (A) Overall cost-effectiveness of energy generation, transmission, or distribution systems; (B) siting or upgrading transmission and distribution lines; (C) reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy generation by rural or remote areas; (D) providing or modernizing electric generation facilities; (E) developing microgrids; and (F) increasing energy efficiency. DOE anticipates emphasizing grid reliability and resiliency for the funding, and will conduct stakeholder engagement over the next few months to inform the structure of the program.
The Bridge Investment Program provides funding opportunities across three categories: (1) Planning; (2) Bridge Projects; and (3) Large Bridge Projects. The goals of the BIP are: (1) to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of people and freight over bridges; (2) to improve the condition of bridges in the United States; and (3) to provide financial assistance that leverages and encourages nonFederal contributions from sponsors and stakeholders involved in the planning, design, and construction of eligible projects.
DOE issued a Request for Information (RFI) to gather feedback on the implementation of energy storage demonstration programs. These energy storage programs will provide the opportunity to accelerate commercialization for energy technologies by: (1) demonstrating the technologies at scale; and (2) partnering with community and industry stakeholders so they can best adopt and benefit from these technologies.
The purpose of Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants is to improve roadway safety by significantly reducing or eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries through safety action plan development and implementation focused on all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation users, motorists, personal conveyance and micromobility users, and commercial vehicle operators. The program provides funding to develop the tools to help strengthen a community’s approach to roadway safety and save lives and is designed to meet the needs of diverse local, Tribal, and regional communities that differ dramatically in size, location, and experience administering Federal funding.
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States and cities can benefit from investments in the Inflation Reduction Act
According to a recent report by the Center for American Progress, the Inflation Reduction Act is assured to help lower American’s energy costs, create good jobs, and help fight climate change. With $369 billion invested in this act, state and local governments will be given aid to help accelerate their communities to cleaner energy and carbon neutrality while ensuring they receive direct benefits. Some of those benefits include:
- Incentivizing deployment of American clean energy
- Lowering energy bills and costs for efficiency upgrades
- Creating good jobs through domestic manufacturing and clean procurement
- Investing in climate-ready agriculture, forest conservation, and resilience
- Advancing clean air through clean transportation
To read more about these benefits, click here.
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Clean Energy Toolkit for Ohio Chambers of Commerce
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Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy is happy to announce a new resource for Ohio chambers of commerce and economic development organizations to help their members and communities lead the way in the clean energy transition. The Clean Energy Toolkit for Ohio Chambers of Commerce will help chambers and other economic development partners, begin conversations to convey the priorities of the business community related to clean energy, sustainability, and/or climate action, and to achieve identified corporate and community goals. This toolkit is meant to be a dynamic document and will be updated on a regular basis with new examples from other chambers, new areas for engagement, and new features. If you have an example to include from your chamber or have questions, please contact Susan Munroe. susan@chambersforinnovation.com
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Is Solar Right for You?
Tuesday, September 20, 2022 at 6 p.m., Steubenville Main Library, 407 S. 4th Street, Steubenville, OH
Community Conversation and Free Legal Clinic to talk about:
- What solar energy is;
- If it’s the right fit for your energy needs; and
- No-cost legal advice to get your solar questions answered.
RSVP by Saturday, September 17.
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2022 Ohio Energy Conference
Quest Conference Center, Nov 15-16, 2022
The 2022 Ohio Energy Conference will take place on November 15 and 16th and will feature public and private leaders from Ohio’s energy sector, who will share what is on the horizon for energy procurement, policy, management, and more.
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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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