Funding is A part of a $1 Billion Effort to Deploy Photo voltaic and Battery Storage to Puerto Rico’s Most Susceptible Residents, Serving to Enhance Resilience and Decrease Vitality Payments for as much as 40,000 Households
The U.S. Division of Vitality (DOE) as we speak introduced as much as $453.5 million from the Puerto Rico Vitality Resilience Fund (PR-ERF) geared toward growing residential rooftop photo voltaic PV and battery storage installations throughout the area, with a spotlight to succeed in and assist Puerto Rico’s most weak residents. This spherical of funding will present shopper safety and schooling initiatives to assist residents’ long-term use of photo voltaic methods in addition to a Photo voltaic Ambassador Prize for group teams to assist the Division determine and join with eligible households – serving to obtain Puerto Rico and President Biden’s objective of reducing vitality prices with a resilient grid powered by 100% renewable vitality.
“A future powered by renewables will supply the residents of Puerto Rico extra vitality safety and extra reliability—all whereas leaving households with cheaper payments to pay,” mentioned U.S. Secretary of Vitality Jennifer M. Granholm. “DOE is utilizing each device at our disposal to develop entry to scrub vitality, particularly for the communities most in danger, giving households the peace of thoughts realizing that their communities are resilient within the face of the local weather disaster.
The Puerto Rico Vitality Resilience Fund (PR-ERF)
In December 2023, President Biden signed the Fiscal 12 months 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act into regulation, which included $1 billion to ascertain the PR-ERF to boost vitality resilience for Puerto Rico’s most weak households and communities and assist the Commonwealth meet its objective of 100% renewable vitality by 2050. The event of the PR-ERF has relied closely on native collaboration and suggestions, together with a proper Request for Data (RFI) launched in February 2023, in addition to Secretary Granholm constant engagement with residents and stakeholders within the area consisting of strategic conferences, townhalls, and group listening periods.
Right this moment’s funding alternative announcement, which is the primary obtainable by means of PR-ERF and totals $450 million is designed to incentivize the set up of as much as 30,000–40,000 photo voltaic PV and battery storage methods for very low-income single-family households which can be both:
- Positioned in areas which have a excessive proportion of very low-income households and expertise frequent and extended energy outages; or
- With a member of the family with an energy-dependent incapacity, equivalent to electrical wheelchair customers or people who use at-home dialysis machines.
Potential candidates might embody non-public business, non-profit organizations, vitality cooperatives, instructional establishments, and State and native governmental entities. Funding may even assist shopper safety efforts to offer residents receiving photo voltaic PV and battery storage installations with ongoing system schooling, coaching, and shopper safety assist.
The second spherical of funding for the PR-ERF will probably be introduced at a later date.
PR-ERF FOA functions are due on September 18, 2023, at 5:00 pm AT/ET. Go to the Grid Deployment Workplace web site for extra info on the contents of this FOA and how you can apply.
Photo voltaic Ambassador Prize
Along with the FOA, DOE is saying the Photo voltaic Ambassador Prize, a aggressive funding alternative for native organizations in Puerto Rico to determine qualifying households and assist them enroll in DOE’s residential photo voltaic PV and battery storage set up program by spring 2024. DOE will award a complete of $3.5 million to as much as 20 group organizations within the area to carry out outreach and engagement to weak households throughout the area who qualify for residential photo voltaic PV and battery storage installations. Chosen Photo voltaic Ambassador organizations will obtain $15,000 in seed funding and extra compensation primarily based on the variety of beneficiaries enrolled in this system and verified by DOE.
Functions to change into a Photo voltaic Ambassador Group are due on September 25, 2023, at 5:00 pm AT/ET. DOE and the Nationwide Renewable Vitality Laboratory will host a public bilingual informational webinar in regards to the Photo voltaic Ambassador Prize on August 17, 2023, at 11:00 am AT/ET. Registration is required.
Courtesy of Vitality.Gov
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