Beneficial Electrification League

NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

May 4 (1:00 - 3:00 PM ET) – Virtual Water Heater Summit. New research from The Brattle Group and GDS Associates on the economics of water heater technology options. Register now.

May 22 (11:30 AM - 1:00 PM ET) – Webinar: DOE ERA and USDA RUS Program Review. Join the Beneficial Electrification League to hear from the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utility Service on how to access funds as they roll out their new funding programs. Register now.

May 23 – Electrify North Carolina! North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives is holding a statewide event on electrification opportunities to showcase emerging technologies and programs that benefit local economic development. Register now.

REMINDER IF YOUR UTILITY SERVES FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBES – DOE 40101(d) formula grant program deadline

Tribes, like states, are receiving grants per Section 40101(d) of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. If your utility serves any federally-recognized Tribe, there is an opportunity to work with the Tribal authority to invest that money in eligible resilience projects. Tribes can receive this money by formula (without competition) – some may not be aware of the program, however.

NOTE: the deadline for this grant application is May 31, 2023. Contact either Keith Dennis or Alex Hofmann for more information.

Virtual Summit on Water Heating

Join BEL for a virtual summit bringing together researchers, industry representatives, and utilities to discuss the state of the electric water heating industry. The summit features the release of new research from GDS Associates and The Brattle Group on the economics of electric water heater options.

Water heater technology vendors and electric cooperatives will provide their perspectives on the findings and the policy landscape. The agenda includes BEL sponsors GDS Associates, Armada Power, La Plata Electric Association, Great River Energy, Aquanta, Rheem, and A.O. Smith. BEL will provide a brief update on heat pump water heater and grid-interactive water heater installation projects.

The Summit and new research are part of BEL’s Weatherization/Electrification Together initiative. Register now for the Summit on May 4, 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM ET.

BEL hosts joint DOE and USDA meeting on grant programs

U.S. Department of Agriculture rolling out $10.7B in loans and grants for electric utilities

BEL has invited the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the Department of Energy to discuss an array of funding opportunities.

The DOE will cover its Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) program, which seeks to improve the resilience, reliability, and affordability of energy systems in communities across the country with 10,000 or fewer people.

RUS representatives will review the $10.7B in funding available under sections 22001 ($1B) and 22004 ($9.7B) in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and how to access that funding. For Section 22001, we will review the $1 billion in loan money targeted to renewable energy infrastructure. USDA could forgive up to 50% of the loan. Eligible entities include electric service providers: municipal and cooperative utilities, as well as investor-owned and Tribal utilities.

For Section 22004, RUS has up to $9.7 billion in the form of loans, grants, loan modifications, and other financial assistance to support the purchase of renewable energy systems, zero-emission systems, and carbon capture systems. Funding also may be used to deploy these systems or to make energy-efficiency improvements to generation and transmission systems.

REGISTRATION OPEN: "Electrify NC!" May 23-24

Electrify NC! will be held May 23-24 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Learn about current and emerging technologies that save consumers money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve product quality, and make the grid more flexible. Find innovative electrification solutions from our industry partners and exciting new opportunities on the horizon!

EPA announces new grant funding available through the Clean School Bus program

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $400M in federal grant funding for new clean school buses, including electric buses. In a change from last year’s rebate program, school district applicants must purchase a minimum of 15 buses and not more than 50 to be eligible; third-party applicants can request between 25 and 100 buses.

BEL views this change – along with a process to encourage coordination between schools and utilities – as an opportunity for collaboration. We know of one G&T already considering a coordinated statewide grant application. BEL is gauging interest and is here to support the efforts of our stakeholders with help writing grants or providing letters of support.

BEL COO Alex Hofmann and EPA Administrator Michael Regan in Alma, Kansas, to mark the arrival of the state's first electric bus.

In February, BEL joined with EPA and the Edison Electric Institute in pledging to support coordination between school districts and utilities. BEL’s COO Alex Hofmann was with EPA Administrator Michael Regan in Kansas to announce the pledge and welcome the very first electric bus to Kansas.

Thanks to proactive outreach by cooperatives and municipal utilities, applications from rural school districts made up forty percent of the applicant pool in the first round of funding. Rural schools are receiving a substantial portion of the new buses. Ninety-five percent of the applications requested electric buses.

On May 10, the EPA is holding a webinar on the grant program at 3:00 PM ET. Register here. To join BEL’s Electric School Bus peer-to-peer platform, send an email to [email protected].

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