Educational Webinar Notes
Looking for more information on grant applications and funding opportunities? Find webinar notes from past events hosted by the White House and other federal agencies to learn more about how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can benefit your community.
General Webinars:
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Key Takeaways
Prospective applicants can access free pre-award and post-award technical assistance. The Community Change Technical Assistance webpage is now live at: https://communitychangeta.org/
Questions about the Community Change Technical Assistance can be sent to EJ_TechAssist@epa.gov
Interested parties should subscribe to the grant opportunity on Grants.Gov to receive notifications when there are updates or modifications.
EnDyna (EPA’s technical assistance partner) will be hosting a series of technical assistance webinars every Tuesday at 3 pm ET. Register for upcoming webinars at: https://communitychangeta.org/webinars
A webinar recording and presentation slides will be posted at: https://communitychangeta.org/webinars
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Key Takeaways
There are four grant types that communities can apply to.
PROTECT grant funds can only be used for activities that are primarily for the purpose of resilience. If there are other elements of a project that are not resilience-related, these elements must have other funding sources.
Matching requirements for Resilience Grants may be reduced if a State DOT or MPO has an eligible Resilience Improvement Plan.
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Key Takeaways
The Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant covers two programs: Community Program and Corridor Program.
○ These programs have different eligibility criteria, application requirements, and selection criteria.
The CFI Program covers EV charging, hydrogen fueling, natural gas fueling, and propane fueling.
○ Propane fueling infrastructure is limited to infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
-All projects are required to comply with EV Charging Minimum Standards.
Questions can be submitted via email to CFIgrants@dot.gov.
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Key Takeaways
There is an Application Support Prize that provides $5,000 and 10 hours of technical assistance. 50 teams will be chosen on a rolling basis. Application Support Submissions are due on April 14.
Teams can apply to two pathways: Equity-Centered Innovation Pathway or the Open Innovation Pathway. Applications are due July 18, 2023.
If awarded prize funds, there are no restrictions on what the prize funds must be used for. However, DOE hopes that prize funds will be used to advance and implement energy efficiency projects and programs described in the prize applications.
DOE recommends that organizations apply as multi-stakeholder teams. Teams will be more competitive than individual applicants.
If you are looking for partners, you can submit a form on HeroX, indicating that you want to join or create a team.
Webinar Notes
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There are 4 pre-steps required before submitting a direct grant application:
○ Register in the System for Award Management (SAM): https://sam.gov/content/home
○ Register in FedConnect: https://www.fedconnect.net/
○ Complete and submit the Pre-Award Information Sheet - Due April 28: https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/Pre-Award%20Information%20Sheet_edited%203.21_vF.pdf
○ Review an account in Performance Accountability for Grants in Energy (PAGE) System
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Key Takeaways
The Notice of Intent to Participate (NOIP) is due April 28, 2023 for Metropolitan Areas.
Each metro area
Lead organizations from areas beyond the 67 prioritized metro areas are encouraged to submit a NOIP.
Municipalities outside of the top 67 metro areas can collaborate on their state’s climate action plan, as long as their state opts in. These municipalities will be eligible to apply for implementation funding.
Each planning grant recipient will be required to submit three main deliverables over the four-year grant period:
Priority Climate Action Plan
Comprehensive Climate Action Plan
Status Report
A recording of the webinar and presentation slides are available on the CPRG Program Page.
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Key Takeaways
1. Key to involve stakeholders in supply chain to maximise heat pump uptake and build
these partnerships early
2. Contractors need guidance on best practices as these are still new technologies that are
regularly updated, keep an ear to the market and learn from their needs
3. Ensure that overall efficiency is prioritized (no point in installing a heat pump if the building
does not mean modern insulation standards
4. Plenty of federal money on the table with this.
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During the Department of Energy’s Justice Week, there was a presentation on how to apply for competitive grant opportunities. This webinar provided an overview of how to find information on funding opportunities, how to evaluate Funding Opportunity Announcements, and how to apply.
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Justice40 is a whole-of-government effort to ensure that Federal agencies work with states and local communities to make good on President Biden’s promise to deliver at least 40 percent of the overall benefits from Federal investments to disadvantaged communities.
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Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation (CMRA) integrates information from across the federal government to help people consider their local exposure to climate-related hazards. People working in community organizations or for local, Tribal, state, or Federal governments can use the site to help them develop equitable climate resilience plans to protect people, property, and infrastructure. The site also points users to Federal grant funds for climate resilience projects, including those available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
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With presentations from top environmental justice experts in the White House, the Council on Environmental Quality hosted a webinar highlighting the environmental justice benefits in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act. The Act creates opportunities to reduce air pollution, increase equitable transportation access, improve access to affordable clean energy, and advance resilience through access to green space.
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The US Department of Energy hosted a Justice40 Kickoff event, featuring Secretary Granholm as the keynote speaker. In this program, DOE presented the eighth policy priorities to advance equity through Justice40, DOE’s plans to implement Justice40, and covered programs. Communities can understand the criteria for Justice40, example benefits metrics, and how Justice40 fits into the grant application process.
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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Energy Communities Interagency Working Group hosted a webinar on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding opportunities for energy communities. Presentations from the EPA’s Brownfields & Land Revitalization Program and Office of Water identified opportunities for communities to leverage BIL funding to advance their sustainability goals.
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Hosted by the White House Infrastructure Implementation Task Force, this webinar provides an introduction and overview of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Guidebook. The BIL Guidebook, available on Build.Gov, is a roadmap to the funding available under the law, including currently available information on key dates, funding opportunities, and direct spending across the government.
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Hosted by the White House Infrastructure Implementation Task Force and the Department of Transportation, this webinar includes information on funding opportunities for electric vehicles under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Presenters from the Build America Bureau also gave an overview of the financing programs available for electric vehicles and related infrastructure projects.
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Hosted by the White House Infrastructure Implementation Task Force and the Department of Transportation, this webinar provides information on formula-based and competitive funding opportunities for public transportation projects available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Presenters from the Build America Bureau also gave an overview of the financing programs available for public transportation projects.
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Hosted by the White House Infrastructure Implementation Task Force and the Department of Energy, this webinar provides information on funding opportunities under 4 main funding priorities: 1) Delivering Reliable, Affordable, Clean Power; 2) Clean Energy Demonstrations; 3) Expanding Access to Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy; and 4) Investing in American Manufacturing and Workers.
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BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW Q3 2022 Grant Forecast.
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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.
Opportunity Specific Webinars:
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Following the close of the 2022 Clean School Bus Rebate Program, the EPA announced that it received over $4 billion in applications for over 12,000 buses, more than 90% of which were for electric buses. In this webinar, the EPA shared information on eligibility for the forthcoming 2023 Clean School Bus Grants program under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
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The Department of Transportation hosted a webinar on the SMART Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity released in September 2022. This program will provide funding for Stage 1: Planning and Prototyping Grants to deploy smart transportation technologies. Learn more about eligibility criteria, application requirements, and next steps.
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The Department of Energy announced the opening of the SolarAPP+ Prize Competition. Through this program, local governments can receive a $15,000 cash prize to adopt SolarAPP+, an online portal through which PV contractors can submit materials to receive instant approval for code-compliant systems. These webinar notes detail the prize competition’s two-step structure, submission requirements, scoring criteria, and a walkthrough of the HeroX Submission Platform.
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The Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office hosted a webinar on the Advancing Equity Through Workforce Partnerships Funding Opportunity Announcement. This program will provide support for the development of inclusive workforce programs and partnerships that will facilitate the continued deployment of solar energy. Learn more about the Funding Opportunity Announcement description, eligibility criteria, timeline, and next steps.
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The US Department of Transportation held a webinar on the upcoming Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant Program, a new program created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fund demonstration projects focused on advanced smart city or community technologies and systems. The webinar covered eligibility, program structure, anticipated timeline, and next steps to get ready for the application opening.
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The EPA and Joint Office of Energy and Infrastructure hosted a webinar providing an overview of the Clean School Bus Rebate Program and infrastructure funding. Representatives from NREL presented an in depth review of energy infrastructure requirements for electric, natural gas, and propane buses.
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The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) hosted a webinar on the “Energyshed: Exploring Place-Based Generation” Funding Opportunity Announcement. In this presentation, EERE covered the program’s goals, technical areas of interest, cost sharing requirements, application information, and evaluation criteria.
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This webinar held by the EPA reviewed the 2022 Clean School Bus Rebate Program, including eligibility, prioritization criteria, and the application process. The webinar notes below also include responses to the Question and Answer portion of the webinar.
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The US Department of Transportation hosted a webinar providing a general overview of the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program. In this program, DOT covered eligibility requirements, grant types, and evaluation criteria for prospective applicants.
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Hosted by the Department of Transportation, this webinar provides an overview of the goals of the RAISE Grants and a detailed review of the application process. DOT representatives gave key information on eligibility, application content, the evaluation process, and tips for competitiveness.
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Hosted by the FTA, this webinar provides an overview of the combined Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Low or No Emission Grant & Grants for Bus and Bus Facilities Competitive Programs. FTA covered the eligibility information, evaluation criteria, review and selection process, and application instructions.
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Hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this webinar provides new information on the EPA’s programming for zero emission and clean school buses authorized under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The speakers presented the program goals for the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program and introduced the 2022 Clean School Bus Rebate Program that will open for applications later this year. Additional information on the application process, eligibility, and next steps are included in the webinar notes.
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Led by the US Department of Transportation (DOT), this webinar provides information on the three programs under the Multimodal Projects Discretionary Grant, including INFRA, Mega, and Rural. DOT covered eligibility criteria for the three programs, application requirements, and selection criteria for award.