TDEC invites Tennesseans to submit nominations for the 2024 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards, which recognize outstanding achievements by individuals, local governments, businesses, organizations, educational institutions, and agencies for successful environmental projects and conservation measures. The honors include ten categories: Agriculture and Forestry, Building Green, Clean Air, Energy and Renewable Resources, Environmental Education and Outreach, Materials Management, Natural Resources, Water Quality, Sustainable Performance, and Lifetime Achievement.

Self-nominations are encouraged. For more information about each category, judging criteria, and nomination forms, visit this link at the TDEC website. Nominations will be accepted until March 15.

TDEC recently announced $191.2 million for 49 grants to be funded under the American Rescue Plan. Grants will fund projects for regionalization, water reuse, and resource protection, as well as projects to promote water infrastructure resilience to extreme weather events and power outages. Cookeville’s water plant plans to utilize its $4 million in funding to move overhead power lines underground and to install a generator. Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) plans to utilize its two awarded grants to install generators at the Arlington Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Water Pumping Station and the Davis and Shaw Pumping Station wellfields.

U.S. DOE recently announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with TVA to provide Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, and potentially other federal facilities in TVA’s service territory with 100% locally supplied carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE) by 2030. U.S. DOE and TVA will develop a roadmap that could be implemented to provide U.S. DOE and potentially other federal customers served by TVA with 100% CFE by 2030 on an annual basis, with at least 50% locally supplied CFE on an hourly basis to match federal agency demand. 

Kairos Power received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to start the construction of its Hermes reactor. Hermes is one of several new reactor technologies U.S. DOE is supporting through its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. The reactor will be built at the Heritage Center Industrial Park in Oak Ridge and will be used to inform the development of the company’s commercial fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor. Kairos will file a separate application for a Hermes operating license from the NRC in the future. The reactor could be operational as early as 2026.

The U.S. DOE Community Energy Innovation Prize, administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), will award up to $7.5 million in prizes as well as mentorship opportunities to organizations supporting innovation, entrepreneurship, capacity building, and economic development in communities historically underrepresented in climate and energy technology funding. With three tracks, the prize aims to support local organizations with proven experience in engaging underserved communities and/or promoting environmental, climate, and energy justice as they enact community-led climate and clean energy solutions; inspire the next generation of clean energy leaders with opportunities for college students to work with community partners; and foster innovation in clean energy manufacturing ecosystems in historically underserved communities.

The three prize tracks include a Clean Energy Ecosystem Track, a Manufacturing Ecosystem Track, and a Collegiate Track. All three tracks of the prize will consist of three phases: Concept, Progress, and Impact. Any eligible team may compete in the first phase, Concept, where applicants form coalitions to develop project ideas. Up to 34 teams across the three tracks will be selected as Concept phase winners and receive an initial prize along with mentorship and access to NREL technology experts. Winning teams will be eligible to move on to the remaining phases.

Learn more about the three prize tracks and the official rules on the Community Energy Innovation Prize page. Clean Energy Ecosystem and Manufacturing Ecosystem Track applications are due February 2.

The U.S. DOE Manufacture of Advanced Key Energy Infrastructure Technologies (MAKE IT) Prize allocates $30 million to catalyze domestic manufacturing of critical clean energy components and to support communities promoting manufacturing activity in their region.

The Facilities Track offers up to $5 million across three phases for advancing a manufacturing facility in select clean energy technology areas. The Facilities Track is open to U.S.-based entities interested in establishing a manufacturing plant for one of several eligible clean energy technology components as described in the official rules document. Statements of intent for the Facilities Track are due February 1.

The Strategies Track offers up to $400,000 to community-focused organizations focused on eligible activities, from developing a roadmap to establishing clean energy manufacturing activity in an area. The Strategies Track is open to U.S.-based entities working to promote manufacturing activity, economic development, growth, and quality of life in their region or community. More information can be found in the official rules document. Applications for the Strategies Track are due February 15.

The Local Infrastructure Hub (LIH) was launched to ensure that all communities can access federal infrastructure funding to drive local recovery, improve communities, and deliver results for residents. The LIH Regional Cohorts Program is now open to assist local governments and their partners in the Southeast in accessing the historic levels of federal funding available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Administered by the Southeast Sustainability Director’s Network, the Southeast Regional Cohort Program has three-tiered learning and mentoring tracks.

Cohorts can provide 1:1 local government outreach and technical assistance and can also work with strategic local and regional partners in a way that will build long-term capacity for local implementation. The three support options are:

Applications will be accepted until mid-2024 or until funds are expended, whichever comes first. Additional information, including eligible applicants, is available in the Southeast LIH Regional Cohort Invitation and on the Southeast LIH Regional Cohort website.

EPA recently announced $2 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act for the Community Change Grants Program to support community-driven projects that deploy clean energy, strengthen climate resilience, and build capacity for communities to tackle environmental and climate justice challenges. The place-based investments will be focused on community-driven initiatives to be responsive to community and stakeholder input.

Eligible entities include partnerships between community-based non-profit organizations and partnerships between a community-based non-profit organization and a local government or institution of higher education. Other organizations and entities may be able to participate and be involved in Community Change Grants projects as collaborating subrecipients and/or procurement contractors selected in compliance with competition requirements. 

View the Notice of Funding Opportunity here and find additional information on the grants.gov page for the program. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through November 21, 2024.

The 2024 Appalachian Carbon Forum, hosted by the University of Kentucky and Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL), will take place March 7-8 in Lexington, KY. The two-day forum brings together a diverse range of thought leaders and innovators to identify and develop energy solutions for the Appalachian region. 

The forum will feature discussions on the representative needs, challenges, and opportunities unique to the area with participants from local communities, private industry, national laboratories, academia, and government located along the Appalachian mountain range. Sessions include topics ranging from clean energy solutions to emissions reduction and meeting power demands while working towards net-zero targets.

View the agenda here and register for the 2024 Appalachian Carbon Forum here.

The State and Local Planning for Energy (SLOPE) Platform is a collaboration between U.S. DOE and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) designed to support data-driven state and local energy planning by delivering modeled energy data at state and local jurisdictional levels. Users can explore energy data potential and projections to better understand opportunities and options in energy planning. The platform includes equity filters to help communities prioritize equitable and inclusive clean energy planning and investments. SLOPE includes two distinct tools to support jurisdictions’ planning needs: a Scenario Planner to compare scenarios for the future of energy, costs, and emissions for counties and states, and a Data Viewer to explore city, county, and state data on renewables, efficiency, and transportation.

Visit the TDEC Office of Energy Programs Website at http://www.tn.gov/environment/energy.

Past Monthly Newsletters: 

November 2023

October 2023

September 2023

For more information or to submit an idea for a future Monthly Energy Edition, contact:

Audrey Jackson, Communications Officer
TDEC Office of Energy Programs
615-917-6683 or audrey.jackson@tn.gov

OR

Alexa Voytek, Deputy Director, OEP Programs
U.S. DOE State Energy Program / Innovation & Transportation / Communications
TDEC Office of Energy Programs
 615-613-1096 or alexa.voytek@tn.gov

OR

Mark Finlay, Senior Energy Analyst, TDEC Office of Energy Programs
615-772-6011 or mark.finlay@tn.gov

Acknowledgement: This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the State Energy Program Award Number DE-EE0009487

Disclaimer: This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government.  Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.