Clean and Sustainable Energy

1
Overview of EPA Climate Showcase Communities
Grant Program
Julie Rosenberg State and Local Climate and
Energy Program Office of Atmospheric
Programs Climate Communities Call June 12, 2009
2
Local Climate and Energy Program

• Informational and Peer Exchange Network
• Advance comprehensive climate and clean energy
  approaches in local governments and their
  communities
• Focus on established, cost-effective best
  practices energy efficiency first, renewable
  energy second
• Serve as a gateway to existing resources and
  programs
• Develop new tools, resources, and guidance
• Facilitate peer to peer exchange
• Showcase success stories
• http//epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-programs/state-a
  nd-local/local.html

3
Climate Showcase Communities Grant

• Awarded in 2009 Appropriation, not ARRA related
• 10M Competitive grant to assist local and tribal
  communities in implementing climate change
  initiatives
• Goal is to achieve documentable, replicable GHG
  reductions from a range of activities and
  community types
• Program will
• Create lasting greenhouse gas reductions
• Foster collaborative partnership between
  communities and the Federal government
• Promote transfer of best practices among
  localities
• Emphasize co-benefits of climate action
• Timing solicitation will open in June 2009

4
FY 09 Appropriations Language

• Climate Change Initiative Grants for Local
  Communities
• The Bill includes 10,000,000 for the Office of
  Air and Radiation to initiate a new, competitive
  grant program to assist local communities in
  establishing and implementing their own climate
  change initiatives. The goal of this program is
  to implement programs, projects and approaches,
  which demonstrate documentable reductions in
  greenhouse gases and are replicable elsewhere.
• The Agency is directed to follow these guidelines
  to implement this Program
• (1) grants are to be awarded on a competitive
  basis
• (2) they are to be one-time grants only
• (3) grantees, other than tribes, are required to
  provide a 50 percent match for the Federal funds
  
• (4) local, county, municipal and tribal
  governments are eligible to apply
• (5) five percent of the funds shall be allocated
  to tribal governments
• (6) grants will fund planning activities,
  demonstration pilots, innovative approaches and
  implementation of projects designed to reduce
  greenhouse gases
• (7) examples of eligible projects include land
  use planning, programs to reduce vehicle miles
  traveled, improvements to building energy
  efficiency and projects to capture methane from
  agriculture

5
What Funding is Available?

• Total Funding 10 million
• Expect to award 30 grants
• expected range from 100,000--500,000
• 50 Cost-share or cost-match required
• can be in the form of cash or in-kind
  contributions (such as use of staff time,
  equipment, volunteers, etc)
• Tribal Set-aside (5) 500,000
• Expect to award 1-3 tribal grants
• No cost-match required

6
Who is eligible?

• Local Governments
• a county, municipality, city, town, township,
  local public authority, school district, special
  district, intrastate district, council of
  governments, any other regional or interstate
  government entity, or any agency or
  instrumentality of a local government
• Federally Recognized Indian Tribes
• Inter-tribal Consortia

7
How will Grantees be Showcased?

• Web based community profiles
• Each showcase will have a profile page
  highlighting their projects, results, lessons
  learned, FAQs, etc.
• updated at a minimum of quarterly
• Serve as living case studies
• Annual Training/Showcase Conference
• Years 23 open conferences highlighting
  successes and lessons learned
• Integrate Showcase Communities with existing EPA
  networks
• Feature recipients in case studies, webcasts,
  email distribution lists, conferences, etc

8
What Support will be Available?

• Assistance developing reporting metrics and
  tracking program results
• Annual Training Workshops
• Year 1 grant recipients only
• Years 23 open conferences offering training to
  grantees and other communities
• Peer Exchange Venues
• private venues for grantees to share ideas,
  brainstorm, collaborate, etc
• include meetings, conference calls, webinars,
  and online discussion forums or collaborative
  workspaces

9
Connections with ARRA Funding

• Focus and Goals
• ARRA focus on energy and jobs
• Showcase Grants focus on GHG reductions (broader
  than energy)
• Timelines
• ARRA funds already being distributed, short
  timelines
• Showcase Grants 2-3 year project periods allow
  longer-term planning, assessment, education,
  evaluation
• Support and Peer Exchange
• ARRA volume limits opportunities for direct
  support and peer exchange
• Showcase Grants training for all recipients,
  multiple peer-exchange venues,
• ARRA and Showcase Grants Serve as Complements
• ARRA allows mass implementation, sows seeds for
  long-term change Showcase Grants grow projects
  into sustainable, replicable models
• Lessons learned from ARRA projects inform
  Showcase Communities, serve as additional source
  of results and best practices
• Coordinating reporting metrics saves effort for
  feds and funding recipients

10
Application Information

• Visit the grant website for updates
• www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-programs/state-and
  -local/showcase.htm
• Mechanisms to ask EPA questions will be available
  after request for application opens
• Website will have Q A page
• Email address for submitting questions
• For help with the grant process, please see
  February 28, 2008 webcast titled, Navigating the
  Grant Process for Local Governments
• www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-programs/state-and-
  local/webcast.html
• www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/documents/webcasts/epa_gra
  nts101.pdf
• www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/documents/webcasts/bayarea
  _aqm_grantee_tips.pdf

11
Contact Info

• Julie Rosenberg
• State and Local Climate and Energy Program Branch
  Chief
• Rosenberg.julie_at_epa.gov
• Andrea Denny
• Local Climate and Energy Program Team Lead,
• Climate Showcase Communities Grant Program Lead
• Denny.andrea_at_epa.gov
• Neelam R. Patel
• Local Climate and Energy Expert
• Patel.neelam-r_at_epa.gov