Several funding opportunities in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy are currently available! See below for details:
EE/RE JOB TRAINING FUNDS:
Kentucky Home Performance is offering incentives to contractors who participate in an upcoming training to become certified through the national Building Performance Institute. The training will be held May 24th-26th in Louisville. In order to be eligible to work as a contractor doing EE/RE on residential properties through the Ky Home Performance program, you must be BPI-certified.
Training incentives include:
• $1,000 available for up to 80% of the cost of training & certification to obtain BPI training for Building Analyst Certification for the first 100 contractors or home auditors trained under the program
• $2,000 available for equipment purchases up to 80% of the cost of qualified equipment for the first 50 contractors or companies participating in the KY Home Performance program. Terms and conditions apply.
Visit www.kyhomeperformance.org for more information.
EE/RE ENERGY PROJECT FUNDS:
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a regional economic development agency that represents a partnership of federal, state, and local government. ARC just announced the fourth round of a grant competition this week to assist Appalachian communities in leveraging renewable-energy and energy-efficiency resources to revitalize their economies. ARC expects to provide eight to ten awards of up to $75,000 each, for a total of $545,000 in awards, to successful applicants.
Aims of the grants may include –
• Preparation and adoption of a community energy plan by a local government jurisdiction.
• Implementation of a renewable-energy or energy-efficiency project such as:
• Production and/or use of renewable energy, including biofuels, biomass, solar, or wind energy, to include local siting of production facilities.
• Distribution of renewable energy, to include customer purchasing commitments.
• Expansion or start-up of "clean energy" businesses, including support for business incubation programs or targeted business financing programs.
• New construction or renovations that follow "green building" and LEED certification guidelines.
• Installation of energy-efficiency equipment in public or nonprofit facilities.
Nonprofit organizations, government entities, and public education institutions located within the Appalachian Region are eligible to apply. Private, for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply.
Visit www.arc.gov/energy for more information.
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The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has announced a call for proposals related to innovative, scalable strategies for energy efficiency retrofit programs or policies that address the existing building stock in the United States.
Funding priorities include but are not limited to sustainable and scalable business models for implementing energy efficiency retrofits; policies or programs that seek to advance aggregation of disparate or fragmented opportunities in energy efficiency retrofits to increase the energy savings potential; innovative financing models and other mechanisms to ease upfront costs of efficiency improvements or increase the attractiveness of investments in energy efficiency; policies or programs to secure greater energy efficient performance in buildings such as through benchmarking or improved operations and management; policies or programs to drive deep energy efficiency retrofits in existing buildings; policies or programs to address split incentives; and mechanisms to increase the effectiveness of and property owner participation in state, local, utility-sponsored, or privately-sponsored energy efficiency programs.
Proposals may be targeted to any particular barrier or segment of the buildings market (e.g., office, commercial, institutional, retail, residential, single-family, or multi-family). Research to help formulate programs or policies to address barriers is eligible as long as the path to implementation or adoption is clear.
The foundation will invite full proposals based on from pre-proposals, with grant l ranging from $100,000 to $350,000 each. Up to a total of $3 million in grants will be awarded. Applicants must be U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations.
Application deadline is May 24th, 2010. Visit
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/rfp_item.jhtml?id=291600012 for more information.
Local artisans and entrepreneurs are hoping to bring life back to the rural communities along Route 7 in eastern Kentucky through antique shops and by investing in local artists.
Community Members hope to revitalize Route 7
appalachiantransition.org
Route 7 Antique Alley and Route 7 Artisan Fellowship are teaming up in eastern Kentucky, working across county lines, and hoping to make change happen in their communities. With 5,200 plus members …
shared 's post.
"A just transition requires reinvesting in regions that have historically relied on fossil fuel extraction as their economic engine. These communities fueled the growth of our nation and paid a heavy toll with the lives of their workers and the health of their communities. Creating a just transition means building a new economy that is diverse, sustainable and provides opportunities for all."
The folks at have made this awesome video about Pine Mountain and their efforts to preserve it. Take a few minutes to watch it today - you won't regret it.
KNLT has completed production of our short film The Wildlands of Pine Mountain. The film was shown at film festivals in Louisville and Morehead over the last few months. We are pleased to now share it with you. Produced by: Kertis Creative Script by: KNLT Narration by: Joan Shelley Music by: Warren Byrom & Joan Shelley We want to thank the following organizations for their financial support of this project: Owsley Brown II Family Foundation, Snowy Owl Foundation, Forecastle Foundation, Land Trust Alliance, Patagonia and Wolverine Worldwide.