The Department of Commerce is holding webinars for grant programs available to cities, townships, counties, and the MET Council.
The Department of Commerce is holding webinars for grant programs available to cities, townships, counties, and the MET Council.
The Department of Commerce is holding webinars for the following grant programs available to cities, townships, counties, and the MET Council:
Geothermal Planning Grants
Public Engagement Webinar: Thursday, October 10, 2024, 1:30-2:30pm
In 2024 the Minnesota Legislature established the Geothermal Planning Grant Program (Minn. Stat. § 216C.47). The purpose of this program is to provide financial assistance to eligible applicants to examine the technical and economic feasibility of installing geothermal energy systems. The Department of Commerce will administer $1.08M in grants to local governments in Xcel Energy electric service territory.
Eligible applicants for this grant program include counties, cities, townships or the Metropolitan Council (Minn. Stat. § 216C.47, subd. 1).
Grants will be awarded for up to $150,000 for the planning of a geothermal energy that heats and cools one or more buildings. Eligible systems include a bored geothermal heat exchanger, a groundwater thermal exchange device, and a submerged closed loop heat exchanger.
Solar on Public Buildings Grants Round 2 RFP 10/21/24
Application Round 2 Webinars:
In 2023 the Minnesota Legislature established the Solar on Public Buildings (SPB) Grant Program (Minn. Stat. § 216C.377). The purpose of this program is to provide grants to stimulate the installation of solar energy systems on public buildings. The Department of Commerce will administer $4.3M in grants to local governments in Xcel Energy electric service territory. This is the second round of funding requests.
Eligible applicants for this grant program are local units of government including a county, statutory or home rule charter city, town, or other local government jurisdiction, excluding a school districts eligible to receive financial assistance under section 216C.375; or a federally recognized Indian Tribe in Minnesota. (Minn. Stat. § 216C.377, subd. 1).
Grants will be awarded for up to 70% of the project costs (dependent on the government’s financial capacity) for a solar array that is built on or adjacent to a public building and is the lesser of 40kW system capacity or 120% of the building’s annual energy consumption.