Latest news with #EnergyEfficiencyandConservationBlockGrant
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg to launch in June
For Mecklenburg County homeowners, nonprofits and businesses looking to install solar panels, local leaders hope a new program helps save money. Next month, the Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg campaign is set to launch. The program aims to lower the cost of installing solar through large-group purchasing. As Charlotte's Chief Sustainability Officer Heather Bolick explains, the more homes, nonprofits and businesses participate, the order gets bigger and the cost per panel decreases. ALSO READ: Silfab Solar debate heats up again in Fort Mill amid safety concerns 'By getting a lot of people to go at once together in this campaign, we can bring down the cost for everyone,' she said. Everyone in Mecklenburg County is eligible to participate, though the campaign is also targeting low and moderate income households. Bolick explains the program will use the $777k in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funding it received last year, from the Department of Energy to help make solar accessible to those who can benefit the most from energy savings. 'We're going to go out to homes that have already had weatherization done, have already had health and safety repairs done, so that they are solar ready,' she said. The program is separate from the statewide Energize NC program, funded through the federal Solar for All program, though Bolick said the city and county hope to work with the Solar for All coalition to find ways for multi-family residents and those who live in homes less suited to solar installations to benefit from community solar or other alternative models. Charlotte has a goal to install 600MW of renewable energy within the city by 2035. According to the Strategic Energy Action Plan dashboard, there's currently about 30MW of solar installed throughout the city. VIDEO: Silfab Solar debate heats up again in Fort Mill amid safety concerns
USA Today
05-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Trump executive orders might freeze funding for OKC electric vehicle study: What to know
President Donald Trump's recent executive orders may jeopardize planned funding for Oklahoma City's electric vehicle and permit-ready resilient home projects. Last Tuesday, the Oklahoma City Council approved a request from the city's Office of Sustainability to advertise for help with the Electric Vehicle Fleet and Facilities Study and Strategic Plan. The project would look into where the city might be able to save money with electric vehicles and what role the city could play in adding vehicle charging stations to city-owned facilities. The next day, just as the request for proposal was released, city staff realized they might have to step back after Trump's executive order froze funding for various programs dispersing and receiving federal grants. 'Our hope is that we can still do the project,' said T.O. Bowman, program planner at the city's sustainability office. 'But where we are right now is there's a lot of uncertainty created by the freeze that I think a lot of people across the country, a lot of municipalities and grant recipients, are attempting to navigate right now.' Trump freezes federal aid:How are Oklahomans affected? What to know Electric vehicle study and plans expected to see $306K in federal grant funding The city's electric vehicle study and plan was expected to see support through more than $306,000 in federal grant reimbursement funding, as per an award agreement from the U.S. Department of Energy. Bowman said city staff became concerned when they saw that the federal entity awarding the grant, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program, was among the swath of programs listed in a memo being targeted for review by the Trump administration. "And then we got a question from one of the potential proposers that asked if the city would consider delaying or pausing this (request for proposal) until we have more information, because what it does is put private firms in a burdensome situation," Bowman said. "After we talked with the planning director and our legal guidance and the city manager's office, we determined we didn't feel comfortable putting that burden on proposers." The request for the electric vehicle study is now set to be canceled, Bowman said. In addition, the city's sustainability office was preparing to pursue a permit-ready resilient housing plan, which Bowman said would have supplemented the current consideration for accessory dwelling units in the city's housing ordinances. That, too, is now on hold. Related:Oklahoma ranks highest among states in electric vehicle registration growth If official communication from the Energy Department confirms that the award will be honored and the city can move forward with the project, sustainability planners will bring the proposal back to council for reapproval. Bowman said that another possible funding source could be identified but that it would not be internal, given the city's current hiring freeze and the budget cuts that are likely to come in the 2026 fiscal year. "We're not completely abandoning the project entirely, but the funding that was going to support it is enough in question that we didn't feel like it makes sense to ask potential proposers to dedicate their time and effort and money pursuing something that may not ultimately have money on this same timeline," Bowman said.
