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Updates:

• BEL's Mid-Year Review
• Rapid Fire Updates
• 40101(d)
• Electric School Buses
• Weatherization/Electrification Together
• Thank you BEL sponsors!

Since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was enacted in 2021, BEL has been hard at work providing grant assistance to utility coalitions, municipalities, electric cooperatives, and Tribes across the country. Our team has already supported grant and funding program applications for projects totaling $10B+ across 30+ states. View our 2024 Mid-Year Review here.

We have successfully secured projects for PACE and New ERA, and we recently got word on several other wins for grid resiliency projects including GRIP 1 and 2, ARC, 40101(d), DOE Energy Future Grants, EECBG, BIA, and more (a real alphabet soup!).

Our "just do it" attitude at BEL means that we spend much more time getting work done than talking about it, but we did pull together a BEL Grant Assistance Tracker to keep tabs on our impact. And the list is only growing!

While the future remains uncertain, one thing is for sure - we will be busy supporting the electric sector's ability to accommodate the load growth that will improve people's quality of life.

Rapid Fire Updates:

40101(d)

Grid Resiliency Grant opportunities have picked up, and BEL continues to provide support for 40101(d) applications at both State and Federal levels. BEL has assisted dozens of utility applicants in more than a half dozen states, and we are pleased to see that states are choosing to provide much of their funding to small utilities, including electric cooperatives and municipal governments. For example, according to the Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association, all 14 applications submitted by 12 Wisconsin electric co-ops were approved by the WI Public Service Commission (subject to a final sign-off by the DOE).

Some states are still accepting grant applications, including North Carolina, New York, and Montana. BEL has extensive experience with these programs, and we can help. Contact us!

Electric School Buses

The EPA has released its list of school districts selected to receive $875.7M in funding from the 2023 Clean School Bus Rebate Program. 48 schools prioritized as remote rural were awarded $37.2M allocated to replace 121 buses. (In 2022, 76 rural remote school districts received $74.3M.) Schools can supplement the rebate program with direct pay tax credits. Some states - Michigan and Illinois, for example - also offer state funding to cover costs. Many of the buses paid for with 2022 rebate funding are now arriving, such as this bus powered by Jackson Electric Cooperative in Wisconsin (pictured below). We are happy to see the program oversubscribed once again and are actively seeking stories about the experience with electric buses. Please reach out if you'd like to share.

Weatherization and Electrification Together

After IRA funding passed almost 2 years ago, state programs to implement HER and HEAR Rebates are now finally beginning to take shape. The DOE's live map highlights the latest application status for all states and territories.

BEL's W/E Together initiative is focused on combining home weatherization and electrification to benefit low and moderate-income customers, the environment and the electric grid. Learn more by visiting our recently updated webpage, which features state-specific toolkits, a guide for community-owned utilities, and other valuable resources.

We are also actively seeking and accepting members to our W/E Together Advisory Group.

Please e-mail us at info@be-league.org for more information about joining.

For information on sponsorship of BEL, please click below.

BEL is a 501(c)3 organization with Silver status as a charitable organization on Guidestar.