NY Green Bank is a State-sponsored, specialized financial entity working with the private sector to increase investments into New York’s clean energy markets, creating a more efficient, reliable and sustainable energy system.

NY Green Bank is a cost-effective and complementary component of New York State’s portfolio of clean energy programs. NY Green Bank works with clients and counterparties to address and alleviate specific gaps and barriers in current clean energy capital markets through a variety of approaches and transaction structures. Since inception, NY Green Bank has utilized innovative approaches to financing structures to mobilize clean energy activity and private capital in New York State, reducing the need for further ratepayer funding.

Bloomberg Philanthropies and Kapwa Consulting recently announced the Climate Challenge Justice 40 Capacity Building Fund (J40 Fund). The purpose of the J40 Fund is to provide funding to support community-based organizations to engage and partner with their local government to advance community-led projects that align with the Justice40 Initiative.

Investment areas include: clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, the remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of critical clean water infrastructure.

The fund is managed by Kapwa Consulting, LLC, who will issue approved awards as direct professional service subcontracts to qualified contractors. Contract amounts for community-based organizations are estimated to be up to $30,000. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the pool of funds is depleted; to apply to Round 3, do so by April 14th.

The Product Development and Small Business Incubator Fund (PDSBI) offers long-term, asset-backed loans to product development companies and small business incubators/accelerators located in Texas. The loans finance the development and production of new or improved products or the stimulations of new or existing small businesses in Texas. The program targets those businesses which may be unable to obtain full financing or financing on workable terms in traditional capital markets.

This solicitation will provide funding to projects that fall into any one or both of the following categories:

1. Training for Existing Workers and Individuals in Formal Training Programs
2. Career Pathways for New Workers/New Entrants in Clean Energy

The New York Clean Transportation Prizes program will electrify transportation, reduce air pollution, and enhance clean mobility in disadvantaged communities in New York State. The competitions will each run in two phases. In the first phase, participants must register by July 22, 2021, to be eligible to submit proposals.

The three prize competitions are:

• Clean Neighborhoods Challenge – up to three $10 million grand prizes will be awarded to innovative projects that address local air pollution reduction at scale in disadvantaged communities. The submission deadline is August 24, 2021.
• Electric Mobility Challenge – up to three $7 million grand prizes will be awarded to projects that demonstrate innovative safe and convenient electric mobility options that help solve disadvantaged community transportation needs. The submission deadline is August 25, 2021.
• Electric Truck & Bus Challenge – up to three $8 million grand prizes will be awarded to projects that demonstrate electrified solutions to the deployment of medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles or their replacement through other electrified transportation modes. The submission deadline is August 26, 2021.

An independent pool of global experts will help New York State assess applications and guide the project selection process through the different phases of the competitions. Under the first phase of the program, projects selected and located in one of the six New York State investor-owned utility (IOU) territories will be eligible to receive the following award package:

• A $100,000 planning grant
• Up to $50,000 in funding for community partners
• Up to $50,000 in-kind support from NYSERDA provided expert consultants
• Additional support services for project management, community engagement, and measurement and verification

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) today announced $15 million is available for the Carbon Neutral Community Economic Development program (CNCED) as part of Round XI of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative announced last week. The funding will accelerate the design, planning, and construction of regionally significant, community-scale carbon neutral economic development projects for buildings, campuses and communities, and large portfolio owners. The program supports Governor Cuomo’s nation-leading climate and clean energy agenda including an 85 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The third round of the Carbon Neutral Community Economic Development program includes two categories in which funding is available:

Category A:

• Facility-level carbon neutral building performance, which includes commercial, light-industrial, mixed use and municipal buildings, new construction, gut rehab and change-of-use projects (no size limit) with up to $2 million available for each awarded project. Eligible costs include: design, energy modeling, energy efficiency, controls, renewables, heat pumps, electric vehicle charging, storage, and commissioning.

Category B:

• Campus, community and large portfolio owner projects, which includes the planning, technical analysis, and design of carbon neutral performance for the community. Projects must be at least 1 million square feet or cost at least $50 million to implement. Projects in this category could include colleges and universities, downtown revitalization initiatives, neighborhoods, and office parks with up to $5 million available for each awarded project.

Funding awards will be prioritized for projects that are easily replicable and located in disadvantaged communities. A total of 21 projects have been awarded over $23 million in incentives since the Carbon Neutral Community Economic Development program was launched in 2018. For more information or to apply for this program please visit https://regionalcouncils.ny.gov/.

Shell UK has announced a new program for energy start-ups – Shell StartUp Engine UK – in partnership with Unreasonable Group (Unreasonable). The program focuses on scale and growth-stage start-ups that are best placed to accelerate a fair and just energy transition, improve access to energy and help consumers make smarter energy choices. CEOs of these start-ups will benefit from high-profile mentorship, access to potential investors and partners, and being part of the Shell and Unreasonable start-up communities.

If you have an idea that has the potential to have a significant positive impact across one or several of the SDGs while being financially successful, apply here to build your company with Satgana. Satgana’s goal is to co-create companies from scratch, alongside extraordinary entrepreneurs. It offers financial, operational, and organizational support for ventures.

CleanFi is a free platform designed to lower the soft costs associated with those commercial building improvements that advance resiliency, environmental health, resource efficiency and resource independence. We help fund hundreds of project scopes that touch on every aspect of a building’s envelope and functionality. We present long-term financing solutions for anything that involves a commercial real estate propertys:

• building envelope (roofs, outside walls, windows and doors,..)
• structural resiliency
• resource efficiency (energy, water, airflow)
• resource independence (renewable energy, storage, thermal,..)
• new transportation (EVcharging, H2 fueling,..)
• internal air quality (heat pumps, HVAC, control,…)
• hundreds of other improvements

Each year Women Founders Network creates a unique opportunity for Female Founders. What makes their pitch competition different than other fast pitch competitions is the valuable leadership and in-kind sponsorships that offered as part of the program. This individualized attention allows the top women entrepreneurs to become pitch-ready in a way that sharpens their plans to scale their companies and makes their business more appealing to Angel and VC investors.

Third Derivative is a joint venture of the world-renowned energy think-and-do-tank Rocky Mountain Institute and the premier global clean energy startup accelerator network New Energy Nexus. They are a next-generation accelerator with committed venture capital, a curated ecosystem of global corporations, and unparalleled market, regulatory, and policy insights.

By linking together startups, corporates, investors and our own technical experts, they’ll “accelerate the rate of change” (a.k.a. the third derivative) for how the world takes climate tech innovations from the lab to the market. Their vertically-integrated accelerator model will find, hone, fund, and scale promising energy technologies to achieve larger, faster reductions in greenhouse gas emissions globally.

They are looking for startups who are working to drive the energy transition, including those at the earliest stages of commercialization. There are only two criteria for applicants: 1) the startup must intend to be a for-profit entity, and 2) the startup must have at least two full-time employees at time of application.

• Facilitate networking between members, advisors and their external stakeholders;
• Create new business opportunities for members;
• Share awareness of, and access to, sources of funding;
• Share knowledge and best practices about business and impact
• Create new visibility opportunities for members, locally and internationally.