Beneficial Electrification League

September Update

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September Updates:

Infrastructure Investments - Are We There Yet? Not Yet....
USDA Announces $7.3B in New ERA Awards - New BEL Resource
BEL Wins $4.5M Implementation Grant to Support Appalachian Infrastructure Development
BEL's Colorado Chapter Offering Virtual Heat Pump Water Heater Installation Training Sessions
Upcoming In-Person Events - Minnesota and New England
Thank You BEL Sponsors!

Infrastructure Investments—Are We There Yet?

The past year has been productive, and a lot of progress has been made to advance electric sector infrastructure funding across America, including in rural communities, small towns and cities, and on Tribal lands. We are incredibly grateful for all of the work that Federal agency staff has put into providing guidance and committing funds. Yet it is important to note that the vast majority of the work to implement infrastructure funding is still ahead of us.

Our team at BEL has now assisted over 100 cooperatives and municipal electric utilities in applying for Federal funding. It has been a lot of work, and it is gratifying to have awards announced—and we have seen billions of dollars of awards for folks we have assisted. We have lived through past Federal funding cycles and have experienced that a Presidential transition is among the most high-risk moments for the continuity of Federal programs. We are rolling up our sleeves to make sure that stakeholders remain aware that the job is not done and that we need our partners inside and outside the government to remain focused on implementing the next steps of the program in 2025 and beyond.

Over the next several months, we will be working to ensure that these programs remain a priority by seeking ways to maintain continuity through the election season and the subsequent Presidential transition.

BEL Outlines the Benefits at Stake from USDA's $9.7B New ERA Program

It was a good month for electric cooperatives! On September 5th, USDA announced that $7.3 Billion in funding was awarded to 16 electric cooperatives under the USDA's New ERA Program. Read more here. The announcement was made by President Biden at an event at Vernon Electric Cooperative in Westby, Wisconsin, a member of Dairyland Power Cooperative, which is the first cooperative to have its application approved. BEL President Keith Dennis attended the announcement on behalf of the Beneficial Electrification League.

The announcement came after a White House convening of New ERA stakeholders on August 6th. As BEL has been engaged extensively with providing technical assistance to electric cooperatives on the New ERA Program, BEL used the time between the White House meeting and the presidential announcement to work with members to produce an "Overview of the Benefits of the New ERA Program," which is available here. The document highlights the potential benefits of the program, but also the challenges with implementing this all by 2031. It is important to note that while some funding has been announced, no construction has begun, and since there is a hard deadline of 2031, we are far from "mission accomplished" with this program, even as the potential benefits outlined below are in sight.

ARC Implementation Grant News

BEL is honored and excited to be awarded a five-year, $4.5 million implementation grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).

The Appalachian Region Community-Owned Grid Resilient Infrastructure Project (ARCO-GRIP) was awarded under ARC’s Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) Program.

In the upcoming years, the BEL Team will work with electric co-ops and municipalities as a resource to help leverage Federal electric sector infrastructure investments, ranging from state grants to direct pay tax credits. The funding opportunity is especially meaningful to BEL because it builds upon a previous planning grant that successfully secured tens of millions of dollars of funding for Appalachian regions in New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Georgia. BEL was honored to receive the support of the stakeholders we assisted during the one-year period of performance for the planning grant. As an example of the planning grant’s success, see: BEL’s technical support helps unlock $13.7M in infrastructure funds for Appalachian communities in Pennsylvania – Beneficial Electrification League. This new implementation grant will expand our support into four more states: Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Ohio, and is supported by a deep bench of contractors and partners.

Over the past two years, BEL has consistently received feedback from not-for-profit rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities that our technical assistance is essential to their ability to secure funding, as the paperwork associated with the grant application process can be overwhelming for a small staff. Yet the funding they ultimately can secure is essential to help bring the benefits of the advancement of utility grid technology to them to keep up with new demands on the electric sector and to prepare for the future. With this funding from ARC, we are able to help bridge the gap, and we could not be more excited to roll up our sleeves and get started!

Additional Resources on Securing Direct Pay Tax Credits:

As part of our work to support electric infrastructure stakeholders in Appalachia, BEL supports the use of direct pay tax credits to fund clean energy projects. ARC has recently offered recordings of audience-specific videos on the direct pay tax credits. You can view them on ARC’s YouTube channel here.

BEL's Colorado Chapter (BEL-CO) Offers Virtual Heat Pump Water Heater Installations Basic Training Sessions

The Beneficial Electrification League of Colorado, our State Chapter in Colorado, is a coalition of stakeholders in Colorado working to advance beneficial electrification in Colorado’s buildings and industrial facilities through building leadership, sharing knowledge, fostering collaboration, coordinating market development strategies, and increasing consumer awareness. Working in conjunction with Love Electric, the group’s vision is for beneficial electrification to be universally accepted as a necessary strategy to meet economic, consumer, and environmental goals.

Check out their website here.

Webinar - Heat Pump Water Heater Installation Basics

Join the Beneficial Electrification League of Colorado for a free webinar as we discuss all things Heat Pumps and Water Heaters. This training session will be mostly relevant to installers in Colorado, but all are welcome to attend.

This webinar will be offered twice. Register for one of the sessions below: