Friday, October 13, 2023

IRA Ambassador Program

In this webinar, presented live on October 5, 2023, we learned more the Inflation Reduction Act and how to serve as an Ambassador and feel empowered to spread the word in your community.

Summary: 

The Inflation Reduction Act represents the largest investment to address climate change in United States history. Peter Lindstrom from the Clean Energy Resource Teams will present new tax credits and rebates for energy efficiency and renewable energy enabled by the IRA.

    • Anyone who can help share information about the opportunities and resources being provided by the IRA. 
    • Ambassadors have access to the IRA Ambassador Toolkit with: recorded presentations, scripts, handouts, slide decks, and email updates.
    • 466 Ambassadors from across all of Minnesota (and even some in other states) have joined since the program's launch in May 2023! 
    • Alan Anderson is just one of the IRA Ambassadors. Read more about Northfield man works to protect his community's tomorrow. 

  • What is the Inflation Reduction Act? 

    • The IRA includes a range of funds to drive supply and demand: 
      • Energy: clean energy incentives, manufacturing, individual incentives, clean fuels/ vehicles 
      • Health Care 
      • Climate: conservation/ rural development/ forestry, transportation and infrastructure, air pollution, climate 

  • What do residents need to know? 

    • Energy Efficiency Home Improvement Credit - AVAILABLE NOW!
      • Maximum annual cap: $3,200
      • Up to 30% tax credit; max amount listed on technology: 
        • Home energy audit: up to $150 
        • Attic & wall insulation: up to $1,200 
        • Heating system - Heat Pumps: $2,000
        • Windows: $600 
        • Doors: $250/door, up to $500 
        • Water Heaters: $600 or $2,000 for a heat pump water heater 
      • TIP: You can also get a credit every year - so you can stage your projects to maximize your benefits! 
    • Home Owners Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) Rebates - COMING SOON! 
      • $4.3 billion available through 2031 
      • Starting in 2024
      • For single-family homeowners and multi-family building owners 
      • Rebates for energy efficiency with a whole-house approach
      • Based on energy savings: 
        • $2,000 for 20% energy savings 
        • $4,000 for 35% energy savings 
        • Doubled for LMI households
    • High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate (HEEHR) Program - COMING SOON! 
      • $4.5 billion available through 2031
      • Starting in 2024
      • Rebates for: 
        • Electric load service center upgrades: $4,000 
        • Electric stove/ cooktop/ range/ oven: $840 
        • Electric wiring: $2,500
        • Heat pump clothes dryer: $840 
        • Heat pump heating/cooling: $8,000 
        • Heat pump water heaters: $1,750 
        • Insulation and air sealing: $1,600 
      • TIP: You can combine these incentives with utility rebates for additional savings! 
    • Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit - AVAILABLE NOW! 
      • 30% federal tax credit for solar and standalone storage 
    • New and Used EV Incentives - AVAILABLE NOW! 
      • Income qualified: 
        • Single, making under $150,000
        • Marries, making under $300,000
      • Conditions: 
        • Must be assembled in North America 
        • Must meet battery sourcing requirements 
        • Must comply with pricing requirements: 
          • Less than $80,000 for SUV, pickup trucks, vans
          • Less than $55,000 for other vehicles 

  • What do businesses need to know? 

    • Commercial Solar Incentives - AVAILABLE NOW!
      • 30% tax credit for: 
        • projects under 1MW 
        • projects over 1MW if they meet the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements 
        • includes standalone energy storage assets! 
      • PLUS stack IRA adders: 
        • 10% for "domestic content" 
        • 10% for "energy communities" 
        • 20% for projects financially benefiting low-income or tribal communities 
          • or 10% for projects located in low income or tribal communities 
    • Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) - AVAILABLE NOW! 
      • An additional $2 billion for grants and loans for rural businesses and agricultural producers adding renewable energy and energy efficiency upgrades 
      • Allows grants to cover 50% (up from 25%) of project costs
    • 179D: Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction - AVAILABLE NOW! 
      • Incentives increased and expanded to non-profits

  • What do city, tribal, and school governments need to know? 

    • Direct Pay - AVAILABLE NOW!
      • Allows tax-exempt entities to take advantage of new tax incentives for solar, energy storage, geothermal, combined heat & power, and electric vehicles 
      • Steps: 
        1. ID your project 
        2. Complete your project 
        3. Determine when your tax return is due 
        4. Complete pre-filing registration with the IRS 
        5. File tax returns (Form 990-T)
        6. Receive your money 

View the workshop recording: 


View the slides and additional materials:

Additional resources: 

Resources for city and tribal governments: 

Need help with applications? 

Best Practice Actions related to this topic: 

  • 1.3 Invest in larger energy efficiency projects through performance contracting or other funding or through smaller retro-commissioning/retrofit projects in city-owned/school buildings.
  • 1.7 Install for one or more city-owned/school buildings one of the following efficiency measures...
  • 2.1 Create or participate in a marketing/outreach/incentive program to promote/achieve residential energy/water use reduction and energy efficiency.
  • 2.4 Describe energy/water efficiency outcomes and other green building practices at businesses and not-for-profit organizations located within/nearby the city.
  • 13.3 Phase-in operational changes, equipment changes including electric vehicles, and no-idling practices for city or local transit fleets.
  • 24.4 Public Education for Action: Conduct or support a broad sustainability education and action campaign, building on existing city & community relationships, networks & events 
  • 23.3 Decrease air emissions from vehicle idling, business trucking, and pollutants/noise from stationary engines/back-up generators.
  • 25.2 Create or participate in a marketing/outreach program to connect businesses with assistance providers, including utilities, who provide personalized energy, waste or sustainability audits and assistance.
  • 26.2 Promote resident/business purchases and/or generation of clean energy
  • 26.3 Promote financing and incentive programs, such as PACE, for clean energy
  • 26.5 Install a public sector/municipally-owned renewable energy technology, such as solar electric (PV), wind, biomass, solar hot water/air, or micro-hydro.
  • 26.6 Report installed private sector-owned renewable energy/energy efficient generation capacity...
  • 29.3  Increase social connectedness through engagement, capacity building, public investment, and opportunities for economically vulnerable residents to improve their economic prosperity and resilience to climate change.
  • 29.8 Improve local energy resilience by minimizing fuel poverty, installing distributed renewable energy systems, and developing microgrids that can improve energy system resiliency.


Register for upcoming GreenStep Cities and Tribal Nations workshops here. You do not need to be a GreenStep community to attend.

 Visit the GreenStep Cities and Tribal Nations program website at www.mngreenstep.org.
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Thursday, October 12, 2023

GreenStep 101: a beginner's guide to the program

In this webinar, presented live on October 10 , 2023, we learned more about the GreenStep Cities, Tribal Nations, and Schools programs.

Summary

  • What is "sustainability"? Sustainability is the interconnection of the environment, economy, and society through shared goals on health, air quality, education, economic development, equity, environmental quality, clean and safe water, affordable energy, community resilience, and our children's future. 
  • What is "GreenStep"? There are currently three MN GreenStep programs: Cities, Tribal Nations (pilot), and Schools (pilot). Key aspects of these programs are that they are free to participants, voluntary, flexible, statewide best practice frameworks, support communities of practice and peer learning, provide recognition, improve health, well-being, environmental quality, equity, and education, and align local action and leadership with common state goals. 
    • Mission: GreenStep programs encourage and support participants' efforts for substantive action and achievement of their sustainability goals through the implementation of best practices and sharing of metrics and outcomes. 
    • Vision: Sustainability is the norm for all: cities, tribal nations, and schools. 
    • Benefits:
      • Serves as a continuous improvement pathway for participants to "go green," becoming more sustainable and resilient.
      • Saves participants staff time in researching proven, cost-effective actions.
      • Best Practices are user-centered.
      • Reduces costs and helps explore how to spend the same amount of money smarter.
      • Designed as a home-grown, independent program tailored to governments of all size and location in Minnesota.
      • Supports sustainable economic development and local economies.
      • Provides maximum flexibility, total control, and choice by councils and boards in deciding how to implement a proven best practice.
      • Participants are supported by a peer learning network and encouraged to learn from each other.
      • Continuously prompts program participants – like an exercise coach would! – to maximize opportunities to accelerate sustainability actions.
      • Encourages public recognition of the good work being done in Minnesota communities.
  • Who is GreenStep? The programs are a public-private partnership that are directed by steering committee. See GSC partner organizations and GSS partners. 
    • 143 cities, 4 tribal nations, 51 interested schools/districts, 44 support organizations, 2 GreenStep Youth Green Clubs. 

GreenStep Cities program 

    • The Steps: 1: pass a council resolution 2-3: implement and report actions 4-5: measure, report, and improve metrics 
    • Best Practices & Actions: There are 29 Best Practices (BPs) and 181 actions (BPAs) under 5 categories of sustainability: Buildings & Lighting, Land Use, Transportation, Environmental Management, Resilience Economic & Community Development. Each BP includes 3-8 specific actions to help guide a community. Each action includes a BP Advisor, 1-, 2-, and 3-star level examples, implementation tools, and a list of who is doing it. BPs and BPAs are structured as a menu of actions, allowing participants to choose the actions that fit their needs best. 
    • Metrics: If you don't measure it, you can't tell results! The menu of sustainability metrics provide communities with a framework for tracking and reporting information needed to set goals, show success, and prioritize actions. Metrics are used to achieve Steps 4 and 5 of the program. 
    • Recognition: Happens annually at the League of Minnesota Cities conference and/or at a Council meeting. Action and metric reports are due by April 1 for recognition in that year. 
      • Categories A, B, and C: A questionnaire about overall community capacity is used to categorize participants into large (A), medium (B), and small (C). The categories are used to determine that challenges for reaching Steps 2, 3, and 4. 
    • Resources: See below. 
    • Gold Leaf Program: Coming soon! A program to help you prioritize high-impact, high-priority pathways for local climate action

GreenStep Tribal Nations Program: 

  • A pilot of the GreenStep Cities program. 
  • Tribal Nation participants: 
    • Determine their commitment, geographic extent, and Category. 
    • Use GreenStep Cities BPs at their discretion. 
    • Utilize GreenStep Cities information, resources, and website. 
    • Are recognized for their accomplishments along with GreenStep Cities. 

GreenStep Schools Program: 

  • What are "Green Schools"?: Improve environmental impact & cost, protect & improve health, provide environmental education 
    • Based on: 
      • Delivery model of MN GreenStep Cities program 
      • Performance areas of Green Ribbon Schools
      • Research on emerging best practices and regional stakeholder needs 
  • Participation Types: 
  • Best Practices: There are 33 BPs under 4 Outcome Areas of: 0. Organizational Leadership 1. Reduced Environmental Impacts & Costs 2. Improved Health & Wellness 4. Effective Environmental Education & Sustainability Education
  • Project Stories: documents BP achievement and shares resources used and lessons learned with peer schools via a page on the GreenStep Schools website. 
  • The Steps: See the process for different participation types. There are 10 steps that provide a framework for reaching higher levels of sustainability. Step 1 is to pass a resolution and Steps 1-5 align with the best practice and metric reporting that the GreenStep Cities program is based on. Steps 6-10 will provide key actions and performance measures for achieving efforts such as net-zero energy/water/etc. 

View the workshop recording: 


View the slides and additional materials:  


Additional resources: 

  • Green STEP Into the Future Report (and 2-page summary): Leveraging the value of sustainability challenge, assistance, and recognition programs - A report of the GreenStep Cities, Tribal Nations, and Schools programs and a discussion on ways to expand outreach and impacts. 

GreenStep Cities: 

GreenStep Tribal Nations: 

GreenStep Schools: 

Register for upcoming GreenStep Cities and Tribal Nations workshops here. You do not need to be a GreenStep participant to attend.
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