Category: Funding Opportunities

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New York City Hospitals & Energy Services Companies Recognized for Peak-Load Reduction

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) recently recognized three New York City hospitals and three energy service companies for energy efficiency efforts. The awards were made through NYSERDA’s Peak-Load Reduction Program, an incentive program designed to improve the reliability of New York’s electric grid while helping businesses and industries reduce operating costs.

New York Methodist and Mount Sinai Hospitals, along with New York Medical College, were each presented a plaque in recognition of their energy efficiency projects that will significantly reduce load demand during peak summer hours. The projects included the installation of two new, high efficiency dual-stage absorption chillers (New York Methodist), a lighting retrofit (Mount Sinai), and the installation of three high efficiency electric chillers and consolidating the air distribution system (New York Medical College). Combined, the three hospitals will save over $1 million a year in operating expenses and reduce electric consumption by over 7 million kilowatt hours per year.

LC Associates, NES Energy, and Con Edison Solutions were each presented awards for their work in numerous cooling, motor, and lighting projects.

Read the full NYSERDA press release online.

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New York: Pollution Prevention Institute RFP

New York State is seeking proposals to help establish a new pollution prevention institute that will promote innovative and cost effective methods for reducing or eliminating the use of toxic substances in manufacturing and other processes, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced recently. DEC is encouraging public or private universities, non-profit institutions, or a consortium of such organizations to submit proposals to develop and implement this pioneering project, first initiated by Governor Eliot Spitzer as part of his 2007-08 Executive Budget. When established, the institute will provide an unparalleled center for technology evaluation and development, as well as technology transfer, training, assistance and workforce development. The institute’s objective is to help make businesses more competitive by enabling them to be more efficient. The institute will foster partnerships among businesses, universities, state and local governments, health and environmental organizations to stimulate the research and development of cutting-edge environmental technologies that will focus on sustainability and toxic use reduction over the course of the product life cycle. Proposals are due by December 5, 2007.

For more information, see the RFP online at http://www.dec.ny.gov/public/37277.html. For more funding opportunities, be sure to check the GLRPPR Funding Opportunities page regularly.

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RSS Feeds Available for GLRPPR Sector Resources

GLRPPR is pleased to announce that RSS feeds are now available for all of the GLRPPR Sector Resources. This means that you can now subscribe to the sector and subject categories that interest you and receive updates in your news aggregator (e.g. Google Reader, Bloglines, etc.) when something new is added to those categories. Many of you already use the GLRPPR News RSS feed, but if you’re new to the concept and need more explanation, check out P2RIC’s RSS Frequently Asked Questions page. The Sector Resource RSS feeds will allow you to keep up with the latest information added to the GLRPPR web site related to your subjects of interest –without having to visit the GLRPPR site, search through the Sector Resources and try to figure out what has been added since you last checked. The “new additions” you’ll be monitoring will include resources, upcoming events, funding opportunities and archived Help Desk questions and answers related to a sector or subject.

To subscribe to Sector Resource RSS feeds, visit the Sector Resources section of the GLRPPR site. Browse through the list of categories, and click on those of interest to you. Within each Sector Resource, you’ll see a small orange box (like this: ) next to the title of the Sector Resource. If you want to subscribe to the RSS feed for that Sector Resource, just click on that orange icon. If you’re using Internet Explorer as your web browser, you’ll see a page showing the code for the RSS feed. Use the URL for that page to subscribe to the feed with your news aggregator of choice. If you’re using FireFox as your web browser, you’ll go to a page that allows you to select the news aggregator you want to subscribe with. Once that choice is made, click on the “subscribe now” button and then follow the regular procedure for adding a new feed to your aggregator. For an example, see the Mercury Sector Resource and look for the orange icon at the top of the page, next to the title. The updates you’ll get in your news aggregator will include the title of the new item and an indication of what the item is (e.g. “Resource,” “Training,” “Funding Opportunity,” etc.), as well as the description of that item as it appears on the GLRPPR web site. Click on the link to the item to go to that item.

This is a new service, so we anticipate that there may be bugs to work out in the beginning; if you want to report a technical problem related to the new feeds, email Tyler Rubach, GLRPPR Webmaster.

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Grants Available for P2 Projects at Michigan Public Parks

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has announced the availability of applications for the 2007 Community Pollution Prevention (P2) Grants Program. The goal of this program is to institute P2 practices and waste reductions at public parks, and offer visitors a unique opportunity to learn about P2 and environmentally sustainable practices while observing day-to-day operations at those parks. A total of $250,000 in grant funds are available and applications are due April 30, 2007. Examples of eligible activities include: development of a park-wide P2 program; recycling projects; implementation of education outreach programs to train park staff and visitors about P2; the disposal of solid and hazardous waste, pesticides, and fertilizers located on park property; replacement of hazardous cleaning products through the purchase of environmentally friendly products; the purchase and installation of water saving fixtures and landscaping; the purchase of energy efficient lighting, heating and cooling, and maintenance equipment; and green demolition and construction projects.

Be sure to check the GLRPPR Funding Opportunities page regularly for additional notices of grants available throughout the region. Relevant funding opportunities also appear in corresponding Sector/Subject Resources on the GLRPPR web site.

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From the GLRPPR Help Desk archive

The GLRPPR Help Desk Librarian is here to answer your P2 questions. Previous questions and answers are archived on the GLRPPR web site and also appear in related sector resource categories. Below is a recent inquiry.

Question: I have heard about a $1/gallon government incentive for biodiesel. I would like some information about who provides the incentive and who gets it.

Answer: This incentive is also known as the Biodiesel and Ethanol (VEETC) Tax Credit. According to the U.S. Department of Energy:

The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-357) created tax incentives for biodiesel fuels and extended the tax credit for fuel ethanol. The biodiesel credit is available to blenders/retailers beginning in January 2005. It also established the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC), which provides ethanol blenders/retailers with $.51 per pure gallon of ethanol blended or $.0051 per percentage point of ethanol blended (i.e., E10 is eligible for $.051/gal; E85 is eligible for $.4335/gal). The incentive is available until 2010.

Section 1344 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended the tax credit for biodiesel producers through 2008. The credits are $.51 per gallon of ethanol at 190 proof or greater, $1.00 per gallon of agri-biodiesel, and $.50 per gallon of waste-grease biodiesel. If the fuel is used in a mixture, the credit amounts to $.0051 per percentage point ethanol or $.01 per percentage point of agri-biodiesel used or $.0050 per percentage point of waste-grease biodiesel (i.e. E100 is eligible for $.51 per gallon) (Source: U.S. DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy)

For more details on this program and other incentives for using alternative fuel sources, see:

Getting bucks back for your biodiesel production
This article provides a good overview of the tax credit and related incentives for biodiesel producers.

State & Federal Incentives & Laws
This database captures state and federal laws and incentives related to alternative fuels and vehicles, air quality, fuel efficiency, and other transportation-related topics. State-level information is updated annually after each state’s legislative session ends. Federal information is updated after enacted legislation is signed into law.

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Canadian Government Announces ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative

The Government of Canada has announced a plan to invest $300 million over four years to promote energy efficiency. The ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative includes three components: a retrofit program that offers information and support for the retrofit of homes, buildings and industrial processes; a program to encourage the construction of more energy efficient buildings and houses; and a program to accelerate energy-saving investments and exchange of best-practice information within the industrial sector. See the Natural Resources Canada Backgrounder for more information on this initiative.

This initiative is the latest in a series of measures set forth by the Canadian government to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy and cleaner energy technologies. See the ecoENERGY web site for more information on all these energy-related initiatives, as well as the Natural Resources Canada Backgrounders on the ecoEnergy Renewable Initiative and the ecoENERGY Technology Initiative.