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Energy Projects
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) specifies federal stimulus funds focus on creating a framework for clean, efficient, American energy. Projects that modernize the nation's electric grid and enhance the reliability of the energy infrastructure will improve electrical distribution to homes and businesses. Energy efficiency can be achieved through conservation, as well as through the use of renewable energy sources.
Ensuring Energy Efficiency
The State of Washington's Department of Commerce will distribute $5 million of ARRA funds as Energy Efficiency Credit Enhancement (EECE) Grants Program, through the State Energy Program. These grants will be made to financial institutions and entities working with financial institutions involved in energy efficiency lending, and are intended to reduce the risk associated with energy efficiency (EE) lending. Seattle submitted its proposal on Nov. 12, 2009. Grants are expected to be awarded by early December 2009.
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Funding
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Seattle Energy Loan Fund Credit Enhnancement
Seattle launched the Green Building Capital Initiative (GBCI) in April 2009. It's a comprehensive approach to reducing energy use in public and private, residential and commercial sector buildings 20 percent by 2020. An important component of the GBCI is securing financing for energy efficiency for markets that typically struggle with access. For this reason, Seattle has launched energy efficiency loan programs for both the residential and small business sectors. If Seattle receives this grant, it will use the money to create a loan loss reserve fund to support both the commercial and residential lending programs.
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$1 million
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Washington State Department of Commerce
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Approval of Seattle's Proposal Pending
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Showing What Smart Grid Technology Can Do
The ARRA provides the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with $615 million for regional smart grid demonstration projects across the United States. The Smart Grid Demonstration Grant program will provide competitive grants for regionally unique demonstrations to verify smart grid technology viability, quantify smart grid costs and benefits, and validate new smart grid business models, at a scale that can be readily adapted and replicated around the country. On August 26, 2009, Battelle and Bonneville Power Authority submitted a proposal, which includes the City of Seattle as a participant.
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Demonstrating Smart Grid Technology
Seattle City Light had participated in a regional proposal led by Battelle and Bonneville Power Authority that bundled 15 projects into one northwest regional smart grid demonstration with a total cost of $178 million. Projects ranged from transformer control at Flathead Electric in Montana to "smart city" demonstration in Pullman Washington. Seattle City Light partnered with the University of Washington, McKinstry Energy Services and several leading energy efficiency technology companies to design and implement a "smart micro grid" on the Seattle campus of UW. The project consisted of approximately 100 meters for individual campus metering, coordination of 24 different building management systems and end use control and monitoring of two lab/classroom buildings and two dorm room buildings. Seattle City Light's main role in the project would have been to provide utility incentives for energy savings and technology demonstration, as well as technical assistance. If the proposal had been approved, the City of Seattle would have provided $350,000 as a local match as required under the grant conditions.
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$350,000
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DOE
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Approval of Seattle's Proposal Pending
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Transforming Solar Markets
The federal Department of Energy (DOE) received $37 million in ARRA funding for its Solar Market Transformation Projects, aimed at addressing current market barriers to the adoption of solar technologies (Topic 1) and establishing a nationally coordinated effort to spread solar installation training to the local level (Topic 2). Seattle submitted its proposal for a Topic 1: award (restricted to the existing 25 Solar America Cities) on July 30, 2009.
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Seattle's Community Solar Program
Seattle's goal is to overcome the barriers to widespread deployment of solar energy technology, dramatically increasing residential, commercial, city-owned, and community-scale solar energy use. Seattle will use its grant funds to develop a Community Solar program, in which shares of a larger solar electric installation are "sold" to participants who might otherwise not have access to solar (e.g., renters, property owners lacking good solar access, residents who cannot afford the cost of a full system). Participants may be able to take advantage of Washington state's renewable energy production incentive program. A strong team of partners that have proven track records in financial analysis, site analysis, education and outreach, policy analysis, community organizing, and renewable energy project development will work with Seattle on this two-year program and help provide the $300,000 required match.
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$300,000
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DOE
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Recommended for Funding
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Helping Small & Medium-Sized Businesses Conserve Energy
The Washington State Department of Commerce received $61 million in ARRA funding for its State Energy Program (SEP). Of that, $14.5 million is set aside for grants to develop and implement pilot programs providing communitywide urban, residential, and commercial energy efficiency upgrades. Seattle submitted its proposal on September 17, 2009.
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Funding
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Replacing Inefficient Lighting Fixtures
Seattle City Light will use grant funds to expand its Quick Lighting Upgrade Initiative, a pilot program to identify and replace inefficient lighting fixtures in small and medium-sized businesses that have not historically taken advantage of City Light's conservation programs. In the proposed expansion, funds will be used to hire additional staff, to add residential care facilities to the list of targeted businesses and to provide additional community outreach to make sure that underserved communities will take advantage of the program. Grays Harbor County PUD partnered with Seattle City Light in the grant proposal and will receive some of the funding in order to develop the same program in its service territory. Both utilities are offering incentive payments to customers who replace their lighting under this program that will generally fund 100 percent of the retrofit cost.
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$1.9 million
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SEP
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Not Recommended for Funding
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Helping Homeowners With Energy Retrofits
The Washington State Department of Commerce received $61 million in ARRA funding for its State Energy Program (SEP). Of that, $38.5 million will be dedicated to a loan and grant fund to provide interim financing to renewable energy projects, to assist innovative companies that have commercial or near commercial energy technologies, and to support cost-effective energy efficiency projects. Seattle submitted its proposal on August 17, 2009.
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Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Loans
The City of Seattle will contract with ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia, a local Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) to attract and manage a pool of public and private capital to finance loans for residential energy efficiency retrofits. The loan program will finance homeowner investments that increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions (e.g., lighting, furnaces, water heaters, windows, insulation, etc). Loans are expected to range from $8,000 - $20,000 depending on the types of upgrades undertaken. The City of Seattle will use $1.2 million of EECBG funds to capitalize the loan pool and $300,000 has been set aside to deliver the loans. The City is submitting this application for matching funds from the State Energy Program.
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$1.2 million
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SEP
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Approval of Seattle's Proposal Pending
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Public Computer Centers
The ARRA provides the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) with $4.7 billion to establish a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, to enhance broadband capacity at public computer centers, and to encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. On August 14, 2009, Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) submitted a proposal primarily focused on expanding broadband access in rural Washington. The proposal also included a public computer center component with the City of Seattle as a participant. Should NoaNet's proposal be approved, Seattle would be a subgrantee.
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Laptop Libraries at NewHolly & High Point
Seattle's portion of this proposal will create laptop computer labs at two of its public library branches serving the needs of some of its low-income, immigrant communities.
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$44,800
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NTIA
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Approval of Seattle's Proposal Pending
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Automating Seattle's Electric Distribution System
The ARRA provides the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with $3.4 billion for smart grid investment proposals in U.S. cities, counties, states, territories, and Native American tribes. The Smart Grid Investment Grant program will provide competitive grants for projects that integrate modern energy and information technology with electric power delivery, generation and customer electrical systems. On August 14, 2009, Seattle submitted its proposal.
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Smarter in Seattle: Integrated and Cross-Cutting Systems
Seattle would have used federal stimulus funds for an advanced metering infrastructure and to automate its energy delivery system. The total estimated cost of the proposed project was $206 million, half of which the City of Seattle would have provided as a local match as required under the grant conditions. This project would have provided real-time energy use information through the use of smart meters for all customers, enabling more options for customers to conserve energy and reduce their energy costs. It also would have allowed automated meter reading and remote operation of critical electrical equipment which, among other benefits, reduces the impact of service outages and lowers greenhouse gas emissions. Seattle planned to install 405,000 smart meters under this program.
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$103 million
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DOE
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Not Recommended for Funding
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Low-Income Weatherization
The ARRA provides $5 billion for residential weatherization projects. The U.S Department of Energy will provide the Washington State Department of Community Trade and Economic Development (CTED) with $59.5 million – its portion of this funding. In turn, Washington State will distribute these dollars to local administrators, including the City of Seattle. This money must be used to increase the energy efficiency of dwellings owned or occupied by low-income people. The City of Seattle will receive $2.4 million, which must be spent within 12 months of receiving funds. If Seattle is successful in spending these funds on eligible weatherization projects, CTED has estimated that Seattle will receive another $2.4 million of federal stimulus funds, which will need to be spent in a 24-month time period.
Seattle's weatherization program, called HomeWise, is managed by the City's Office of Housing. These stimulus funds represent a significant increase in funding for an ongoing program that allows Seattle to reduce our city's carbon footprint, to reduce the demand for energy, to reduce energy costs for low income households in Seattle, and to create "green jobs." Seattle plans to use these funds to pay for whole-house weatherization of single-family homes owned by low-income homeowners, for partial payment of energy efficiency improvements in multifamily buildings occupied by low-income households, and installation of high-efficiency heating systems, particularly for low-income homeowners currently using oil furnaces.
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant
The ARRA provides the U.S. Department of Energy with $3.2 billion for energy efficiency and conservation projects in U.S. cities, counties, states, territories, and Native American tribes. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program will provide formula grants for projects that reduce total energy use and fossil fuel emissions, and improve energy efficiency nationwide. On March 26, 2009, Mayor Greg Nickels announced Seattle will receive $6.1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program. The funds will be used for energy-saving programs in homes, businesses, City facilities and transportation.
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Seattle's Proposal
Seattle will use federal stimulus funds to begin replacing all 40,000 residential streetlights in Seattle with energy- and cost-efficient LED (light-emitting diode) technology. This funding also helps implement Mayor Nickels' Green Building Capital Initiative, an aggressive effort to reduce energy use in buildings by 20 percent citywide. In addition, the federal funds will accelerate Seattle City Light's ambitious five-year conservation plan and install energy efficiency products in residences and small businesses. Seattle will invest $1.5 million in a revolving loan fund for residential retrofit projects, and will develop an Energy Performance Score to measure home energy use, similar to an MPG rating for cars. The City will invest $0.5 million to fund energy audits to identify energy-efficiency improvements to be made at City facilities. The City will develop a portfolio of efficiency projects and pursue separate financing for implementation.
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$6.1 million
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Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program
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Approval of Seattle's Proposal Pending
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Electric Vehicles
On May 13, 2009, Mayor Greg Nickels submitted letters of support for two different proposals for U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) Transportation Electrification funds being awarded as part of the ARRA.
The first proposal was submitted by Arizona-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. or ETEC in conjunction with Nissan North America. This proposal would build out electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Phoenix-Tucson, and the State of Tennessee. Nissan will sell at least 1,000 battery electric vehicles to fleet and private owners in each of five regions. The Seattle-area would see an estimated $20 million for the installation of 1,000+ charging stations along with education, and an electric utility smart grid interface. One charging station will be located at the home parking space for each vehicle sold. Additional charging stations will be located on a mix of public and private locations, such as commercial parking garages, retail stores, coffee shops, malls, etc. These stations will be available to any vehicle compliant with the national connection standard for electric vehicles. USDOE Idaho National Laboratory will collect data from both the vehicles and chargers to assess the impacts of factors, such as vehicle use patterns, charging frequency, varying climates, and availability of vehicle chargers. (In related news, Nissan has received a $1.6 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to help Nissan produce zero emission electric vehicles in the U.S.)
August 2009 update: Seattle learns grant has been awarded.
The second proposal the Mayor supported was from Better Place of Palo Alto, Calif., which applied for $75 million in stimulus funds to create a network of charging stations and battery exchange stations in the Puget Sound region, the San Francisco Bay Area and Hawaii. Exchange stations let drivers swap batteries for fresh ones.
September 2009 update: Seattle learns the Better Place proposal was not funded.
In addition, Seattle applied for and received $1.4 million for green vehicles and charging station infrastructure as part of a U.S. Department of Energy Clean Cities grant.
We should know if we are successful on these proposals by this fall.
We will update this page with information regarding our specific proposals as they are submitted.
Bids for federal stimulus projects are posted on the City Purchasing Bid Advertisements & Announcements Web site.
Updated: November 18, 2009
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