Energy Grants for Counties

Governor Phil Bredesen and Commissioner Matt Kisber of the Department of Economic and Community Development announced this month that $9.3 million in federal stimulus funds will be available to small- and medium-sized cities and counties through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. The competitive grants are available to assist local governments in conserving energy and reducing fossil fuel emissions. If you were at the fall conference in Chattanooga earlier this month, this is the program that was described by Dan Hawk during our membership meeting.

Areas of funding that will be given priority include: developing an overall energy efficiency and conservation strategy; retrofitting existing buildings with cost effective energy efficient measures; implementing renewable energy technologies on government buildings; and replacing traffic signals and street lighting with energy efficient lighting technologies.

The 17 largest cities and 10 largest counties in Tennessee may apply directly to the U.S. Department of Energy for EECBG funds. All other cities and counties may apply through the state of Tennessee by 5 p.m. CST on December 30, 2009.

Applications and more information about the program are available here.
The maximum grant amount will be $100,000 and partial funding may be awarded.

ECD will host two application workshops on Nov. 2, 2009 in Nashville at the Ellington Agricultural Center from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and again from 1 – 4 p.m. CST. The meeting will focus on the guidelines and application process and offer suggestions for making an application more competitive.

Applications will be scored based on the local government’s strategy, feasibility, readiness to proceed, impact, partnerships and the ability to extend funding impact beyond a one time use.