Up to $4.6 million available for new round of Grid Modernization grants

Commerce is pleased to announce a new application period is now open for the Grid Modernization grant program under the state’s Clean Energy Fund. Up to $4.6 million is available through a competitive award process.

To support a wider range of the state’s utilities, this round of funding provides support for earlier-stage pre-design and design activities for future capital projects. The available funding supports electric utilities in deploying grid modernization projects that facilitate integration of renewable energy sources, deployment of distributed energy resources, and sustainable microgrids.

Only retail electric utilities are eligible to apply, however priority will be given to applicants that demonstrate partnership with federally-recognized Tribal governments and/or non-profit organizations serving Tribal communities or vulnerable populations.

Commerce is also prioritizing projects that:

• Support the deployment of capital assets that benefit federally- recognized Tribal governments, Tribal communities or vulnerable populations.
• Demonstrate meaningful community engagement and/or co-creation of project design and outcomes.
• Use new or innovative products or services, or which deploy a proven technology using a novel approach.

Applications must be received by 5 p.m. on May 18, 2021.

Find more information, including examples of past projects and all application materials, on Commerce’s Grid Modernization webpage.

The Grid Modernization program is funded through Washington state’s Clean Energy Fund (CEF). The CEF invests in projects that provide a public benefit to Washington communities through deployment of clean energy technologies that save energy and reduce energy costs, reduce harmful air emissions, or otherwise increase energy independence for the state.

Resilience is increasingly important for Better Buildings partners and the broader marketplace. More than 80% of companies polled in the 2019 EEI survey rated resiliency as extremely or very important when making energy and building infrastructure investments. At last year’s Better Buildings Summit more than 950 attendees joined sessions on the topic of resilience.

To help you build on your energy efficiency improvements and increase your organization’s resilience by mitigating risks from natural disasters and other stressors, we created the Efficiency-Resilience Nexus.

Use the nexus to find solutions specific to your organization’s goals, whether you’re implementing new energy efficiency technologies, decreasing the energy demand on facilities, minimizing vulnerabilities to climate-related impacts, finding financing, or just deciding where to start.

RESOURCES FOR ALL STAGES OF IMPROVING RESILIENCE:

Learn about resilience. Develop strategies to reduce natural disaster risks. Work with utilities on demand response. Improve resilience in your community. Design more resilient buildings. Finance resilience projects and use the Finance & Resilience Roadmap toolkit to guide improvements. Explore proven, real-world solutions by Better Buildings partners. Watch webinars addressing all aspects of improving resilience from partners who have implemented resilience plans.

Our Customer Energy Management (CEM) group is interested in receiving information which may result in new and innovative demand-side energy management products, programs and support services for the program years 2022-2023. The goal of this Request for Information (RFI) is to secure information on potential energy efficiency products that could be incorporated into energy management programs and related services for our customers in the 2022-2023 biennium. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute for a Request for Proposals or any contractual opportunities or obligations.

If your company is interested in learning more about submitting a written response, please review the RFI document for details. Final responses must be submitted electronically to us at [email protected] on or before 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on March 1, 2021. You will not receive a hardcopy of the RFI; distribution is through e-mail only. These documents have also been publicly posted on the Conduit website.

GET STARTED

 

Seattle City Light is excited to launch the second round of project solicitations for the Energy Efficiency as a Service (EEaS) pilot program.

For this this round, we are seeking 10 buildings (new or existing) with plans to implement deep energy efficiency projects. Participants will be selected through a competitive Request for Projects (RFP) process which opened January 22, 2021 and closes April 30, 2021.

As communicated in the last newsletter, eligibility has been expanded to include the following non-residential building types:

1. Existing buildings:
   1. City Light account type: Commercial
   2. Primary City Light account must for more than 90% of the building’s electricity
   3. Lease type: any
   4. Ownership type: any
   5. Size: Min 50,000sf
   6. Savings target: Project must intend to save 25% of annual electricity consumption
2. New Construction:
   1. City Light account type: Commercial
   2. Primary City Light account must for more than 90% of the building’s electricity
   3. Electricity must be sole fuel source for the building (back-ups excluded)
   4. Lease type: any
   5. Ownership type: any
   6. Size: Min 50,000sf
   7. Savings target: Project must take the C401.3 Target Performance Path code compliance pathway and intend to perform 25% better than code requirement

How do I get more information?

To learn more about the pilot program, please visit https://powerlines.seattle.gov/eeas/. Updated program documentation is provided on the webpage.

There will be an EEaS Information Session on Thursday, March 11th, 2021 from 11AM – 12:30PM. If you are interested in joining, please email Colm Otten to register and block off your calendar. Please email all specific questions emailed to [email protected] before February 12th, 2021. All questions will be answered and covered during the information session. Meeting invitations will be sent to all who submit questions or indicate interest in attending.