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    • Author: Becky Berg

    EECBG (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant) program

    2024 update: The EECBG program launched February 20, 2024. Please see the EECBG program page for more details.

    The US Department of Energy, through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will be making formula fund awards to be administered by state energy offices. Commerce has applied and is awaiting confirmation of an award for the state.

    The EECBG program offers three funding pathways in total:

    1. Larger cities, counties and tribes are being allocated funding directly from DOE. Applications are due to the U.S. Department of Energy.
    2. State energy offices will be distributing funds to counties, cities and tribes that are not eligible for the direct funding from DOE. There will be a Washington state process. Application opening and closing dates TBD.
    3. Some competitive funding was also available to these ineligible jurisdictions by application directly to DOE.  Applications have closed.

    Washington is expected to receive $2,273,890 in formula funds and Commerce is designing a program for re-granting those funds once they arrive. Commerce is required to distribute at least 60% to local governments and tribes that are ineligible for direct funding from the Department of Energy. As re-granting details and a timeline becomes available, information will be posted on this page.

    Jurisdictions wishing to connect with Commerce, may reach us at COM Energy Retrofits for Public Buildings energyretrofits@commerce.wa.gov.  Please include “EECBG” in the subject line.

    See the US Department of Energy EECBG webpage for details on the EECBG program. For updates on other federal programs including residential, see the Commerce page Federal Funding for Buildings.

    September 2023 Open Funding Opportunities for Electric Vehicles and Charging Equipment

    • Washington Community Charging Infrastructure Grant Program – The Washington Department of Commerce is launching the $65M electric vehicle community charging infrastructure grant program and will be accepting applications through December 1, 2023, for multi-family housing, publicly available charging, and fleet charging. Visit Washington State Electric Vehicle Charging Program website for program criteria and eligibility. The Notice of Funding Opportunity for the program opens September 6, 2023. Applications due December 1, 2023.
    • Washington State Department of Ecology Upcoming Grant Opportunity – The Washington Department of Ecology grant opportunity to transition publicly and tribally owned street sweepers, refuse vehicles, freight switcher locomotives, and port cargo handling equipment to zero emission. Applications due October 26, 2023.
    • The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program stipulates a 10% set-aside for grants to states and localities that require additional assistance to strategically deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The first round of funding focuses on improving the reliability of the current network by repairing or replacing existing EV charging infrastructure. Eligible applicants and projects for the EV Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator are outlined in a Notice of Funding Opportunity published September 13. Applications are due by Nov. 13, 2023. The Federal Highway Administration will host a webinar on September 21, 12-1 p.m., to provide an overview of the NOFO. Register for the webinar.
    • Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grants – The Department of Energy has announced a $2 billion funding opportunity to expand manufacturing of electric vehicles by converting facilities to manufacture electric vehicles and components. Concept papers are due by October 2, 2023. Full applications are due December 7, 2023.
    • Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program – The Department of Energy is accepting applications for automotive manufacturing conversion projects that retain high-quality jobs in communities that currently host manufacturing facilities. Up to $10 billion is available. Potential applicants are encouraged to engage directly with the Loan Programs Office (LPO) for no-fee, no-commitment consultations to start a conversation about the project and about LPO’s process before formally applying by contacting ATMVLoan@HQ.doe.gov to request a consultation with an LPO staff member.

    Federal Comment Submissions

    In the past two years, there has been substantial movement at the federal level to accelerate and promote hydrogen and renewable fuels development. Both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021 and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 established multi-billion dollar investments into renewable fuel initiatives in the form of grants, tax incentives, and other support. The Washington Department of Commerce has taken every available opportunity to participate in the input processes that shape these important policies and programs.

     

    Funding opportunity for digital navigator service providers (NOFO-BBDE-DNP-24-001) – Now Closed

    Commerce has $14.5 million in grants available for eligible organizations to provide digital equity and navigation services to Washington residents and households with limited access to broadband services.

    Details

    • Eligible applicants must be a consortium, which is defined as a partnership of at least three separate entities.
    • Projects must provide digital navigator services including, but not limited to, one-on-one assistance for people with limited access to services, including individuals seeking work, students seeking digital technical support, families supporting students, English language learners, Medicaid clients, people experiencing poverty, and seniors.
    • Funding requests may not exceed $14.5 million per fiscal year.
    • Period of performance in fiscal year 2024 is Sept. 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
    • Year two funding in fiscal year 2025 is dependent upon Commerce review and approval of year one outcomes, timely deliverables, and year two work plan and budget.

    Timeline

    Request for Information – Commerce seeks input to inform spending of $5M to secure federal funding opportunities from landmark legislation

    The historic CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) make available hundreds of billions in both direct federal funding and tools to leverage private sector investment in critical industries to Washington state.
    Commerce is requesting information from communities and entities that plan to apply for federal funding under these programs.

    For further details on various programs created by the Acts, please review:

    What we are asking and why

    Commerce seeks high level details about planned applications to programs funded under these historic federal investments.

    We are requesting this information to make fair and informed decisions about how to allocate $5 million in state funds over the next two years intended to secure federal investment for projects throughout Washington state. We anticipate awarding grants of $25,000-500,000 to organizations pursuing federal investments over the next two years and are seeking your input on how this funding can best be allocated.

    2023 Legislature appropriated renewed funding for new recovery residences

    The 2023 Legislature appropriated renewed funding for new recovery residences to Commerce for the biennium that begins July 1, 2023. It also appropriated a significantly larger amount to the Health Care Authority for the same recovery residence startup activities. Both agencies are working together to develop a streamlined approach to contracting these dollars. We hope to avoid administering two identical programs.

    While that solution is being developed, Commerce will release an application on or near August 1, 2023 solely for recovery residences who received their first recovery residence contract July 1, 2022. Commerce intends to issue step-down grants to the eight recovery residence operators for a maximum award of $47,000 per contract.

    Recovery residence operators who received their second award on July 1, 2022 will not be eligible for a third year of assistance.

    Office of Tribal Relations hosts second annual COMTAC gathering

    Tribal partners reviewed proposed updates to the agency tribal relations policy and can now access all tribal-relations-focused team members through new shared inbox.

    On June 23, Commerce’s Office of Tribal Relations (OTR) held our second annual Commerce Tribal Advisory Committee (COMTAC) gathering, graciously hosted at the Northern Quest Resort in Airway Heights. As our agency grows in the area of tribal relations, we have been shaping COMTAC to serve as a formal means of communication between our agency and tribal partners. This gathering marked the first opportunity for COMTAC to deliver on the request of our partners.

    First, I had the pleasure of sharing a welcome video that Director Mike Fong prepared specifically for COMTAC. Second, I had the opportunity to introduce our new tribal-relations-focused team members, including Al Andy, deputy tribal liaison in OTR, and Bridget Ray, tribal coordination manager in Growth Management Services (GMS).

    This gathering was the first time we were able to share our proposed updates to an agencywide Tribal Relations Policy that will work in partnership with our Tribal Relations glossary and resource guide. The Office of Tribal Relations in partnership with the Tribal Resource Group will host a Real Talk on July 19 to share more on these topics and resources and to gather feedback. Please note these documents are in draft form and the glossary is written from the indigenous lens, so be sure to take care of yourself when reviewing.We also debuted our legacy contact information, a new shared inbox that all tribal-relations-focused team members can access to ensure a quick and efficient way for tribal partners to get the information and answers they need.

    COMTAC tribal briefing

    Legislative Director Dave Pringle and the Government Affairs and Policy Team gave an update on agency-tracked legislation and its potential impacts to tribal communities. Attendees engaged in a lively conversation around the distribution of the Climate Commitment Act Tribal Resilience Grants. GMS’s Dave Andersen and Bridget have been working diligently to hold listening sessions and gather as much feedback and direction to craft a means of distributing the funds as equitably as possible, as determined by the tribes.

    As COMTAC representatives requested, we also provided a budget briefing, so tribes would have knowledge of what funding opportunities will becoming available. We had four of our divisions present (Energy, Community Services, Local Government and Housing) to share tribal-specific opportunities for funding. There has been a lot of interest in the energy programs, and we look forward to seeing how many applications turn into funding projects.

    Proposed changes to agency Tribal Relations Policy

    In the afternoon, we focused on the work we have been doing internally around updating our tribal relations policy and responding to calls to pull back authority to consult under Executive Order 21-02 Archaeological and Cultural Resources (PDF). The announcement of our commitment to recalling the authority to consult was met with much surprise and support!

    Our Tribal Resource Group has spun off a small taskforce to begin mapping the tribal elements of EO 21-02 work across all divisions. Once we document our data and process, we will be able to see how and where the process is working and where it can be streamlined. The feedback we have received from the tribes is that the status quo is extremely administratively burdensome.
    Another approach we are working through is programmatic agreements with the tribes to give permission in some bodies of work, based on specific criteria set individually by the tribe, for projects that don’t break ground or by location or type. We will do this work in partnership with agency divisions, and full transparency is our goal.

    OTR has moved away from a long prescriptive policy to a shorter draft policy, providing guidance and pointing to living documents for detailed support on how to carry out the type of tribal relations appropriate for your project. Those who attended COMTAC were supportive of the idea and particularly enjoyed the flexibility of being able to update the resource guide and glossary at the request of a tribal partner or internally (with notification to tribal partners).

    The intention of this policy update is to extend support and direction beyond formal government-to-government relations and provide policy support for internal educational and training opportunities and process improvements.

    During COMTAC, we shared a 10-week comment period for tribal feedback on all three documents. We plan to share more detail during our upcoming Real Talk, where we will also discuss establishing OTR Live-and-Learn Sessions. At those, OTR team members will be available in a non-formal setting to talk about any aspect of the policy (or other tribal engagement) you might be interested in before we take the policy through formal adoption processes.