Clean Energy Workforce Education Conference

The 4th National Clean Energy Workforce Education Conference will be held in Saratoga Springs, New York from March 8-10, 2011.

The 2011 primary conference sponsor is the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is the primary organizer.

IREC provides this update for the workforce community.

Bringing the promise of clean technologies to market starts with a qualified workforce. Training opportunities have proliferated over the last few years and now we have the opportunity to take a hard look at what instructional strategies and curricula have worked best and what still needs to be done.

Conference speakers will look at industry competencies and how they need to be built to insure a flexible workforce with transportable skills; how to balance classroom and field experiences; introducing clean energy technologies and careers to high school students; integrating new clean energy skills into existing trade programs; and what labor market studies are telling us. This will be a fast-paced conference covering many critical and emerging issues.

On March 8, 2011 a series of technical, hard-to-find, and thought-provoking workshops will be held. The Conference will be on March 9 and 10 with over 80 presentations (*)

If you are involved with training the clean energy workforce or planning to, this is an event you don't want to miss.

The special conference hotel rate of $128/night (single/double) is available until February 18, 2011.

Conference Program (Plenary Sessions and Workshops)

Registration Brochure

Acres for America

Acres for America, a partnership between Walmart Stores, Inc. and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, was established to provide funding for projects that conserve important habitat for fish, wildlife, and plants through the acquisition of interest in real property. The goal of the Acres for America program is to offset the footprint of Walmart's domestic facilities on at least an acre-by-acre basis through these acquisitions.

The program will make approximately $2.5 million in total funding available annually through 2014 for conservation investments.

Endorsement by appropriate federal, state, and local government agencies that the land acquisition is of high conservation value is a primary consideration. Preference will be given to acquisitions that are part of published conservation plans, State Wildlife Action Plans, or Endangered Species Act Recovery Plans. Natural Heritage rankings for key species present on the site are an important consideration when available. Endorsement by nonprofit conservation organizations that the acquisition is of high conservation value is also a primary consideration.

Acquisitions that contribute to "landscape level" conservation efforts which help reduce fragmentation are preferred over isolated acquisitions. Important fish, wildlife, and/or plant resources, such as endangered species or areas of significant biological diversity (as identified by credible conservation agencies or organizations), should be conserved through the acquisition. Access to the land by the public is preferred but not required.

All grant awards require a minimum 1:1 match of cash or contributed goods and services. Federal funds may be considered as match.

Visit the NFWF Web site for complete program guidelines, application procedures, and an FAQ.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Nature of Learning

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System and the National Conservation Training Center, and National Wildlife Refuge Association, is accepting applications from organizations interested in initiating the Nature of Learning in their communities.

The Nature of Learning is an FWS National Wildlife Refuge System's community-based environmental education initiative that seeks to use National Wildlife Refuges as outdoor classrooms to promote a greater understanding of local conservation issues; encourage an interdisciplinary approach to learning that enhances student academic achievement; utilize field experiences and student-led stewardship projects to connect classroom lessons to real world issues; and create partnerships among local schools, community groups, natural resource professionals, and local businesses.

First-year grants of up to $10,000 each and second-year grants of up to $5,000 each will be awarded on a competitive basis to support education projects focused on the causes and effects of climate change on refuges and to build citizen science partnership programs. Proposals that incorporate this theme are preferred but not required.

Academic institutions or nonprofit organizations, including "Friends" organizations, cooperative and interpretive associations, Audubon Chapters, youth organizations, community groups, etc., are eligible to apply for funding. The program must involve a partnership with a national wildlife refuge.

While matching contributions are not required, preference will be given to applications that include other contributions of funds, goods, and services from program partners.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

PA 2011 Conservation Innovation Grants

NRCS requests proposals from eligible government, non-governmental organizations, or individuals which seek competitive consideration of grant awards for projects between one and three years in duration. CIG does not fund research projects, rather, CIG funds proposals that stimulate the development and adoption of conservation approaches or technologies that have been studied sufficiently to indicate a likelihood of success. CIG funds projects targeting innovative on-the-ground conservation, including pilot projects and field demonstrations. To be eligible, projects must involve landowners who meet the EQIP eligibility requirements.

Noel Soto, PA CIG Program Contact, Phone 717-237-2173 PA CIG Program Contact

Pennsylvania State Clean Diesel Grant Program; Grant Application Acceptance Period

[41 Pa.B. 908]
[Saturday, February 12, 2011]

 The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) announces an opportunity to apply for $588,235 awarded to the Commonwealth by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (42 U.S.C.A. §§ 16131—16137). This funding is available for eligible diesel grants under the Pennsylvania State Clean Diesel Grant Program to improve air quality and protect public health and the environment in this Commonwealth by reducing emissions from diesel-powered vehicles.

 The Department is seeking applications to replace, repower or retrofit fleet diesel-powered school or transit buses. Funding is available for public and private entities that operate diesel-powered fleets of school and/or transit buses throughout this Commonwealth. These entities may include school districts, municipal authorities, political subdivisions, nonprofit entities, corporations, limited liability companies or partnerships incorporated or registered in this Commonwealth to replace, repower or retrofit diesel-powered school or transit buses with technologies certified or verified by the EPA or the California Air Resources Board to lower diesel emissions. The technology may be a single technology or a combination of available technologies. The majority of the fleet's annual operation time must occur within this Commonwealth.

 The Department will not reimburse grant recipients for project costs incurred prior to the grant performance period set forth in the applicable grant agreement.

 The application package including guidance, instructions and application forms is available by contacting Martin T. Felion, Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air Quality, 12th Floor, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market Street, P. O. Box 8468, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8468, (717) 787-9702. The application package is also available electronically on the Department's web site at www.depweb.state.pa.us (DEP Keywords ''Clean Diesel'').

 The Department will begin accepting applications on February 14, 2011. Applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. on April 14, 2011, or postmarked on or before April 14, 2011. Faxes and electronic copies will not be accepted.

MICHAEL L. KRANCER, 
Acting Secretary

Technical Assistance to Build More Sustainable Communities

The Office of Sustainable Communities (OSC) in U.S. EPA’s Office of Policy is seeking proposals to create and deliver technical assistance programs to local and tribal governments facing common land use and development challenges. This Request for Proposals (RFP) seeks to fund up to three applicants that will provide technical assistance to multiple communities on the use of standardized, “ready to go" tools that lead to changes in local policies and development regulations. As a result of this RFP, the grantee(s) will select and work with communities to increase their capacity to successfully implement smart growth and sustainable communities development approaches that protect the environment, improve public health, facilitate job creation and economic opportunity, and improve overall quality of life.

Link to Full Announcement

Technical Assistance to Build More Sustainable Communities

Energy Innovation Portal

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Innovation Portal now has more than 300 business-friendly marketing summaries available to help investors and companies identify and license leading-edge energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. The Portal is an online tool that links available DOE innovations to the entrepreneurs who can successfully license and commercialize them. By helping to move these innovations from the laboratory to the market, the Portal facilitates an integral step in supporting growing America's clean energy industries and meeting the Administration's clean energy goals.

"Our National Laboratories are a major driver of innovation in this country. By connecting American entrepreneurs with cutting-edge, ready-to-commercialize technologies from the National Labs, the DOE Innovation Portal is helping to grow our economy and create the next generation of American jobs," said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Currently, the Energy Innovation Portal contains more than 300 technology marketing summaries and more than 15,000 DOE-funded U.S. patents and patent applications. The guiding principle behind the development of the Portal is to create a user-friendly and easily accessible website where business professionals can identify DOE-funded innovations that have the potential to create new energy market opportunities.

Energy Funding without NOFAs

[reposted from Free Money Ate My Brain blog] Funding from the government is not something you can request by snapping your fingers and asking. It tends to be very much a “don’t call us, we’ll call you” thing: the government puts out a NOFA (notice of funding availability), saying what they want done, by whom, etc., and if you fit their criteria as a group that can accomplish what the government wants, you apply for the grant. But there is a category of funding in the federal Department of Energy that breaks those rules. Under certain circumstances, DOE accepts unsolicited proposals, ones that don’t come from a NOFA, and spring from the inventor or business in question to perform a task or develop a technology the feds haven’t thought of yet. So if your company has a truly ground-breaking technology to develop and take to market in the field of energy, in which the Department of Energy has an interest, this could be your chance.


According to the Department of Energy:
DOE considers proposals in all areas of energy and energy-related research and development with emphasis on long-term, high-risk, high-payoff technologies. DOE may accept an unsolicited proposal if it:
Demonstrates a unique and innovative concept or a unique capability of the submitter
Offers a concept or service not otherwise available to the Federal government
Does not resemble the substance of a pending competitive solicitation.

Furthermore, noncompetitive solicitations must meet at least one of the following criteria:
• Be necessary to the completion of, or be a continuation or renewal of, an activity already funded by the Department of Energy.
• Be conducted with the applicant's resources or resources donated by a third party
• Be awarded to a unit of government for an activity related to a government function
• Be awarded to an applicant with exclusive domestic capacity to perform the activity successfully
• Implement an agreement between the United States and a foreign government to fund a foreign applicant
• Be restricted by time constraints associated with public health, safety, welfare, or national security
• Be awarded for an unsolicited proposal
• Be determined to be in the public interest.

This is called “noncompetitive funding,” because it doesn’t come out of the competitive funding process of NOFA, and can only be done under narrow circumstances outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations Here are the guidelines for submitting an unsolicited proposal.

The contact person in DOE for unsolicited proposals is:

John N. Augustine
Unsolicited Proposal Manager
National Energy Technology Laboratory
U.S. Department of Energy
E-mail: DOEUSP@netl.doe.gov