Workforce, Community & Diversity Programs
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants
Eligible state, local, and Tribal governments can now apply for $430M in funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) Program. Pre-Award Information Sheets are due April 28, with final applications due in July 2023 or January 2024 depending on applicant. The EECBG Program assists eligible government entities in implementing strategies to:
- Reduce fossil fuel emissions in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and, to the maximum extent practicable, maximizes benefits for local and regional communities;
- Reduce the total energy use of the eligible entities; and
- Improve energy efficiency in the transportation sector, the building sector, and other appropriate sectors.
- Build a clean and equitable energy economy that prioritizes disadvantaged communities and promotes equity and inclusion in workforce opportunities and deployment activities, consistent with the Justice40 Initiative.
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Community Power Accelerator
The Community Power Accelerator connects developers, investors, philanthropists, and community-based organizations to create an ecosystem of partners that work together to get more equity-focused community solar projects financed and deployed. Part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP), the accelerator will create a pipeline of credit-ready community solar projects—particularly those that provide benefits to underserved communities—and connect them with mission-aligned investors and philanthropic organizations to get these projects funded.
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LACI Founders Business Accelerator
The Los Angeles Cleantech incubator (LACI’)s Founders Business Accelerator (FBA) increases the economic, community, and environmental impact of small businesses and micro-enterprises throughout the City of Los Angles. During this free 6-month virtual program, you will develop a powerful strategy to grow in today’s rapidly changing business landscape, receive training and individual support from LACI’s highly accomplished Executives-In-Residence and other industry experts who will teach you how to strengthen your business plan, tap into vital resources, and accelerate your success!
LACI is actively recruiting entrepreneurs for a limited number of FBA seats. Competing in today’s marketplace can be tough, but we know there are powerful changemakers among us and everyone deserves a chance to make an impact. That’s why we invite entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities – women, founders of color, formerly incarcerated, veterans, and individuals with disabilities – to apply today and prepare for impact.
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2023 Cleantech Open Accelerator
Cleantech Open is the world’s largest cleantech accelerator, providing entrepreneurs and corporate innovators the resources they need to launch and grow successful cleantech businesses
The CTO annual accelerator provides between 100-150 companies in the U.S. with a rich program of customer discovery, extensive mentoring, training, investor meetings, startup-corporate matching, and showcasing at both the regional and national levels. Since 2005, more than 70% of reporting U.S. alumni companies are still operating and have collectively raised over $2B in external funding.
The Application Fee per company is $30 through February 28th. On March 1st, the application fee becomes $75.
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Community Power Accelerator Prize (Phase 3)
The American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize is designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and co-developers to learn, participate, and grow their operations to support multiple successful community solar projects. The goal of this prize is to grow a robust ecosystem of community solar project developers that incorporate meaningful benefits into projects across the United States.
This prize has three phases: Ready! Set! and Grow! By the end of the prize, competitors will be ready to engage with the Community Power Accelerator online platform, which provides a place for competitors to shop their credit-ready projects around to verified project developers, investors, and philanthropic organizations.
The Community Power Accelerator Prize is open to U.S. community solar developers, including new developers, co-developers (organizations who are partnering with a project developer), or developers who are expanding their community solar operations.
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Community Power Accelerator Prize (Phase 2)
The American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize is designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and co-developers to learn, participate, and grow their operations to support multiple successful community solar projects. The goal of this prize is to grow a robust ecosystem of community solar project developers that incorporate meaningful benefits into projects across the United States.
This prize has three phases: Ready! Set! and Grow! By the end of the prize, competitors will be ready to engage with the Community Power Accelerator online platform, which provides a place for competitors to shop their credit-ready projects around to verified project developers, investors, and philanthropic organizations.
The Community Power Accelerator Prize is open to U.S. community solar developers, including new developers, co-developers (organizations who are partnering with a project developer), or developers who are expanding their community solar operations.
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Community Power Accelerator Prize (Phase 1)
The American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize is designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and co-developers to learn, participate, and grow their operations to support multiple successful community solar projects. The goal of this prize is to grow a robust ecosystem of community solar project developers that incorporate meaningful benefits into projects across the United States.
This prize has three phases: Ready! Set! and Grow! By the end of the prize, competitors will be ready to engage with the Community Power Accelerator online platform, which provides a place for competitors to shop their credit-ready projects around to verified project developers, investors, and philanthropic organizations.
The Community Power Accelerator Prize is open to U.S. community solar developers, including new developers, co-developers (organizations who are partnering with a project developer), or developers who are expanding their community solar operations.
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2023 Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge
In an effort to scale needed housing solutions, Enterprise and the Wells Fargo Foundation have teamed up to launch a new $20 million competition. The Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge will identify and propel implementation-ready innovations that transform current practices and reimagine access to affordable homes. Eligible applicants will compete for individual grants of $1 million, $2 million and $3 million to scale ideas that lay the groundwork for system-wide change. Winners also will receive two years of technical assistance to turn their ideas into real-world programs.
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Direct Air Capture (DAC) Pre-Commercial EPIC Prize
The Direct Air Capture (DAC) Pre-Commercial Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize awards cash prizes to regional incubator teams that submit creative and impactful plans to support entrepreneurs and innovators in the DAC space and create meaningful community engagement. It aims to support both emerging and established direct air capture incubators and accelerators in implementing those plans to develop strong clusters, resources, and connections for energy startups and entrepreneurs.
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HydroWIRES (Water Innovation for a Resilient Electricity System) Initiative – Technical Assistance
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) today announced an opportunity for hydropower developers and other stakeholders to receive technical assistance from the DOE national laboratories to advance hydropower’s role on the electricity grid. This technical assistance opportunity is open to hydropower developers, system operators, utilities, energy co-ops, manufacturers, regulators, policymakers, nonprofits, and others. Both for-profit and nonprofit companies or entities that are incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a particular state or territory of the United States are eligible to apply.
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2023 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering $50,000 to $200,000 in prize awards for impactful and inclusive approaches to foster a thriving, collaborative national innovation support ecosystem to advance research and development (R&D) from ideas to impact. By fostering connections between entrepreneurs, advisors, mentors, partners, philanthropies, corporations, investors, and other shared resources, the 2023 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) will catalyze strategic ecosystem partnerships to build community and organizational capacity for the successful launch, growth, and scale of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)-based entrepreneurs and startups.
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Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) – Isotope R&D and Production
Isotope R&D and Production (IP) FOA will support MSI-led efforts to increase diversity in the isotope workforce development pipeline. MSI-led teams will partner with sites funded by IP to engage in routine isotope production. Students will participate in isotope production related research, fostering the next generation workforce of isotope scientists and engineers. Efforts will also expand research and training capabilities of MSIs and opportunities for their faculty. Webinar: January 17th, 12 pm EST. Register here.
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