Dane County Clean Energy Economic Development Grants

Background 

Dane County established the Clean Energy Economic Development Grant Fund (the Fund) in 2018 and assigned administration of the Fund to the Office of Energy & Climate Change.

The Office of Energy & Climate Change worked with stakeholders to establish the purpose of the Fund, consistent with state and county policy. OECC determined that initiatives receiving grants from the Fund should address at least one of the following:

• Maximize energy-related economic development benefits.
• Promote advancements in energy use and generation in the most just and equitable ways.
• Create jobs and increase economic productivity in Dane County. 
• Advance cutting-edge energy technologies and programs that can be replicated in other counties in Wisconsin and across the nation.

In April 2020, the Office of Energy & Climate Change issued Dane County’s first countywide, economy-wide climate action plan (CAP), Today's Opportunity for a Better Tomorrow: 2020 Dane County Climate Action Plan. 

Relative to the Clean Energy Economic Development Grant Fund, the Office of Energy & Climate Change’s primary priority is to make progress on the outcomes identified in the CAP.  Accordingly, we are seeking to fund grants that can accelerate progress on specific CAP priorities associated with those outcomes. This Request for Proposals (RFP) represents the first time that the OECC is soliciting proposals associated with the Fund. A total of $135,000 is available for grants at this time. 

Download the grant application materials for more details on the funding available and eligible projects. 
 

Grant Priorities

The Office of Energy & Climate Change intends to provide grants to eligible applicants for initiatives that will make progress one or more of the outcomes identified in the Climate Action Plan. In 2020, we expect most projects will be scoping efforts that refine CAP recommendations into a program or policy plan that is ready to implement. Also eligible are initiatives that combine some level of service delivery or engagement coincident with the development of a related project scope, especially if those efforts provide some continuum of progress in a specific area. 

See below for the 2020 priority initiatives.  The number in italics after the recommendation refers to where you will find the discussion of this priority in the CAP. We seek efforts focused on:

• Launching the energy facilitator initiative outlined in the CAP with an emphasis on targeting one or more underserved populations (such as minority-owned businesses, rural households or households where English is not the first language) (81-84)
• Expanding consumer access to solar power countywide, with an emphasis on populations (e.g., renters, frontline communities) that typically have more barriers to solar power (108)
• Identifying and reducing energy usage in high energy use intensity commercial buildings across Dane County (87)
• Accelerating the electrification of single- or multi-family homes in Dane County with an emphasis on homes heated with propane and fuel oil and/or with an emphasis on new construction (68)
• Accelerating Dane County dairy farm participation in manure digesters (119)
• Advancing progress on a climate-health-equity challenge in the county (36-42)
• Encouraging the Dane County business community to institutionalize long-term support for telecommuting as a way to reduce vehicle miles traveled (n/a)
• Accelerating electric vehicle adoption in the county with an emphasis on addressing equity (94-99)
• Quantifying the carbon sequestration opportunities associated with one or more agricultural or land use practices (116-122)

These priorities are NOT in a ranked order of importance. All of the items listed above are priorities.

Application Information

To learn more about the Clean Energy Economic Development Grant Fund, download the grant application materials.

The 2020 grant deadline was Tuesday, December 8 at 2 pm CST.  The application solicitation is now closed.

If you have questions, email oecc@countyofdane.com.