USDA New ERA Program
The USDA RUS New ERA letters of interest are due on September 15, and BEL continues to assist stakeholders who are putting the finishing touches on billions' worth of letters of interest. Recently, USDA underscored in a new FAQ accessible here that ensuring smaller-scale US farmers see benefits from USDA investments is a priority for the Department. Strategies to achieve this include creating ongoing revenue streams for small-scale farmers from energy production revenue or land leases (in addition to lower energy prices). If you have the ability to include a sentence or two in your LOI in cases where benefits will go to local farmers, it is something that may be relevant to USDA. BEL would be happy to discuss strategies for incorporating community benefits into your letters of interest.
DOE Energy Future Grants – New Opportunity to Join BEL Application Cohort
BEL is looking to bring together city, town, and municipal electric and cooperative stakeholders to apply for a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of State and Community Energy Programs Energy Future Planning Grant. We have heard from you all that enhanced collaboration on grid infrastructure upgrades would be useful, especially when done in a way that meets local community-owned utility priorities and assists with technology planning to help with electrification, demand flexibility, and resilience and reliability projects, such as microgrids. Please let us know if you’d be interested in joining the application cohort by emailing info@be-league.org. We’re looking to submit an application by September 30.
DOE 40101(d) Grid Resilience State and Tribal Grants
More than half of US states have been allocated funding for resilience and are setting up their programs to disperse funds. Here is the information on what was allocated to your state. BEL is working with small utilities and Tribal entities to secure funding under this program. If you need assistance and expertise on this program, please reach out to info@be-league.org.
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