Attention small- and medium-sized manufacturers interested in clean energy
This new Department of Energy program is focused on helping companies and communities create jobs for those impacted by a decline in coal mining. There are a number of eligible census tracts between Knoxville and Cookeville.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) “Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program” opened applications on Monday for a funding opportunity that will invest $350 million in small- and medium-sized manufacturers to produce or recycle advanced energy property— property used to support clean energy supply chains — in what are described as “energy communities.”
According to this mapping tool, there are a number of eligible communities in the eastern portion of Tennessee that have coal mines closed after December 31, 1999 or are communities adjacent to those census tracts. There is also one census tract with a retired coal-fired generator. The new solicitation will prioritize applications from minority-owned firms, and all applicants are required to submit a Community Benefits Plan demonstrating the project’s impact and benefits to the host community and region.
An informational webinar on the Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program funding opportunity will be held at 2 p.m. EST February 21. Concept papers are required and are due by 5 p.m. EDT on March 14 with full applications due by 5 p.m. EDT on June 8.
As part of the initiative, DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, which manages the program, will also establish a competitive technical assistance program in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to support small- and medium-sized manufacturers in feasibility analyses and other planning activities that support the transition of dislocated workers into clean energy jobs and of inactive energy infrastructure into hubs for future economic growth.
