The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Thursday that it has selected 12 local governments and tribes to receive over $31 million in funding through the Communities Sparking Investments in Transformative Energy (C-SITE) funding opportunity. Under DOE’s new Local Government Energy Program, C-SITE supports the implementation of high-impact clean energy projects in disadvantaged communities, energy communities, and small- and medium-sized jurisdictions.
Chattanooga was awarded $2,900,000, and will create a community resilience hub by renovating and expanding a closed school to provide employment services, including roof insulation, high performance windows, LED lighting, and an efficient chiller.
“The James A. Henry building was already going to operate as a health clinic and early childhood education center for the people of the Westside, and now it will also be an energy efficient resilience hub," said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. "This grant was only possible because of our Climate Action Plan and the hard work of the Chattanooga Housing Authority. I want to thank the Department of Energy for recognizing the need for investment on the Westside."
“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring that every community in the country is able to take advantage of the benefits of the clean energy economy,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “By investing in energy projects in smaller, disadvantaged, and energy transition communities, these grants will reduce energy costs, increase resilience and create jobs and economic opportunity in places that have historically been left behind by federal programs.”
C-SITE was launched with a goal to fund projects that spark additional investments in communities and deliver direct benefits to workers and residents, such as workforce agreements and protections, reduced energy costs, improved air quality, and improved quality of life. Selected communities are investing in variety of clean energy approaches and technology areas including building efficiency and electrification, clean transportation, energy infrastructure upgrades, microgrid development and deployment, renewable energy, and workforce development.
In addition to grant funding, selected recipients will receive technical assistance to support project implementation. Notably, selectees will be able to receive a Community Energy Fellow, a DOE-sponsored clean energy professional that will be located in the host community for 18 months to help build capacity and support project outcomes.
This first round of 12 selectees will engage over 32 different partners ranging from housing organizations, workforce training centers, and community-based non-profits. The projects selected demonstrate a range of benefits that could be models for other communities including:
- Transforming liabilities into assets, such as turning vacant lots into housing
- Modeling new approaches, such as deploying agrivoltaics in a small rural community
- Reducing operational costs and building resilience, such as creating resilience hubs
- Funding workforce opportunities, such as training unionizing local apprentices for e-bikes maintenance
- Sparking investments, such as creating new business models for municipal or tribally-owned utilities