Interstate Renewable Energy Council

TAS::89 0331::TAS RECOVERY WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (WAP)

SPARC TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDER (TAP)

A COMPREHENSIVE NATIONWIDE ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) CHARGING RECOGNITION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (CHARGINGSMART) THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT IS TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE SOFT COSTS (BOTH AC LEVEL 2 AND DC FAST CHARGING) OF NEW EV CHARGING INSTALLATIONS IMPLEMENTED ACROSS THE NATIONAL CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE. THE PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A NATIONWIDE PROGRAM (CHARGING SMART) TO ASSIST LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN SETTING AND ACHIEVING EQUITABLE EV-READINESS GOALS, STREAMLINING REGULATORY PRACTICES, AND FACILITATING THE ADOPTION OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND CHARGING STATIONS.

TAS::89 0321::TAS NATIONAL ADMINISTRATOR OF THE SOLAR INSTRUCTOR TRAINING NETWORK

SINCE 2016, THE SOLSMART PROGRAM HAS HELPED LOCAL GOVERNMENTS (LGS) REDUCE SOFT COST BARRIERS TO SOLAR MARKET DEVELOPMENT AND MADE IT EASIER FOR RESIDENTS TO INSTALL RESIDENTIAL SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS. THE NEXT PHASE OF THE SOLSMART PROGRAM WILL EXPAND LG PARTICIPATION, INCORPORATE NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND TOPICS, AND FURTHER ACCELERATE THE DEPLOYMENT OF SOLAR ENERGY, WHILE ADVANCING KEY PRIORITIES AROUND EQUITABLE ENERGY ACCESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (EJ). THE NEW SOLSMART PROGRAM WILL SET A GOAL OF DESIGNATING AT LEAST 500 NEW COMMUNITIES, FOR AN OVERALL GOAL OF DESIGNATING ALMOST 1,000 SOLSMART COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES BETWEEN 2016-2027. THE SOLSMART PROGRAM WILL ADVANCE EJ PRIORITIES THROUGH TWO KEY STRATEGIES. FIRST, THE PROGRAM WILL PRIORITIZE RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO UNDERSERVED OR DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING RURAL COMMUNITIES, LGS WITH LIMITED RESOURCES, AND LGS WITH SUBSTANTIAL LOW AND MODERATE INCOME (LMI) POPULATIONS. SECOND, THE PROGRAM WILL PRIORITIZE HIGH IMPACT TA SUPPORT IN ALL COMMUNITIES INTENDED TO HELP FACILITATE SOLAR ADOPTION AMONG HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED POPULATIONS AND BY ASSOCIATED INSTITUTIONS (SCHOOLS, COMMUNITY CENTERS, ETC.) AND BUSINESSES. THESE STRATEGIES WILL BE DESIGNED TO INCREASE THE DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS IN THESE COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING COST SAVINGS, PRICE STABILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS. OF 500 NEW LGS DESIGNATED, 200 WILL BE UNDERSERVED OR DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES, AS DEFINED IN THE FOA OR PROVIDED BY DOE’S JUSTICE40 ANALYSIS. OF THE 1,000 LG STAFF RECEIVING DIRECT TRAINING THROUGH THE PROGRAM, 400 WILL BE STAFF EITHER FROM UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES OR PARTICIPATING IN TRAININGS FOCUSED ON ADVANCING EJ-FOCUSED CRITERIA AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. OTHER NEW ELEMENTS OF THE SOLSMART PROGRAM WILL INCLUDE THE INTEGRATION OF ADDITIONAL SETO PROGRAMS AND TOOLS, SUCH AS INCENTIVES FOR ADOPTION OF SOLARAPP+; A GREATER FOCUS ON USING SOLAR PLUS TECHNOLOGIES, SUCH AS SOLAR + STORAGE; AND AN INCREASING FOCUS ON OTHER TOPICS, SUCH AS CODES AND STANDARDS; SITING AND ZONING FOR COMMERCIAL AND UTILITY-SCALE SOLAR SYSTEMS; SOLAR FINANCING; SOLARIZE CAMPAIGNS; AND OTHER ACCELERATED DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES. SOLSMART WILL PURSUE AN AMBITIOUS COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM TO RE-ENGAGE WITH PREVIOUSLY DESIGNATED COMMUNITIES, DEVELOP NEW TOOLS AND RESOURCES IN LINE WITH NEW PROGRAM PRIORITIES, AND BUILD AWARENESS OF THE PROGRAM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. SOLSMART WILL SET A GOAL OF “LEVELING UP” AT LEAST 200 PREVIOUSLY DESIGNATED COMMUNITIES AND DOCUMENT AT LEAST 6,000 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTS OR USE OF PROGRAM OUTPUTS, INCLUDING COMMUNICATIONS CONTENT, DOWNLOADS OF REPORTS OR RESOURCES, AND ATTENDEES TO PUBLIC WEBINARS OR CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS. FINALLY, THE SOLSMART PROGRAM WILL DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT AN IMPACT EVALUATION STRATEGY DESIGNED TO MEASURE THE IMPACTS OF THE SOLSMART PROGRAM IN REDUCING SOFT COSTS, REDUCING PERMITTING AND INSPECTION (PI) TIMELINES, AND ACCELERATING THE ADOPTION OF SOLAR ENERGY IN DESIGNATED COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE PROGRAM WILL IMPLEMENT A NEW STRATEGY FOR BASELINE DATA COLLECTION AND FOLLOW-ON REPORTING TO BETTER TRACK PROGRAM IMPACTS IN INCREASED SOLAR DEPLOYMENT IN SOLSMART COMMUNITIES BEYOND BUSINESS-AS-USUAL GROWTH EXPECTATIONS. WORKING WITH AN EXTERNAL EVALUATOR AND CONTROL GROUP ANALYSIS, THE PROGRAM WILL ESTABLISH A GOAL OF DEMONSTRATING THAT SOLSMART DESIGNATION LEADS TO A 50% DECREASE IN INSTALLATION TIMELINES IN DESIGNATED COMMUNITIES, A 25% INCREASE IN SOLAR DEPLOYMENT WITHIN DESIGNATED COMMUNITIES, AND A TOTAL OF 500 MW OF ADDITIONAL ROOFTOP RESIDENTIAL SOLAR ENERGY DEPLOYED ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

REGULATORY AND UTILITY SOLUTIONS TO ADVANCE SUNSHOT INITIATIVE GOALS

MILLION SOLAR ROOFS/SOLAR OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS

INTEGRATION OF SOLAR TRAINING INTO ALLIED INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLATFORMS

SOLAR AMERICA INITIATIVE: SOLAR OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS

SOLAR READY VETS NETWORK - PHASE III

THE WAP RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND CONTRACTOR SUPPORT WILL RAISE AWARENESS OF AND INTEREST IN WAP CAREERS AND CONTRACT WORK WITH DISADVANTAGED POPULATIONS AND MINORITY- AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES. IT WILL ALSO RESULT IN SUBGRANTEE ADOPTION OF MORE EFFECTIVE RECRUITMENT PRACTICES.

NATIONAL SOLAR JOBS ACCELERATOR

DYNAMIC AND RESPONSIVE DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCE EDUCATION SOLUTIONS FOR BUILDING, FIRE, AND SAFETY DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS

THE INTERSTATE RENEWABLE ENERGY COUNCIL (IREC) AND OUR NATIONAL AND LOCAL PARTNERS WILL DEVELOP AN ONLINE PLATFORM TO COLLECT SOLAR TRAINING RESOURCES, IMPROVE SOLAR RECRUITMENT AND OUTREACH PROCESSES, AND STREAMLINE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SOLAR TRAINING, JOB SEEKERS, AND EMPLOYERS, WHILE PRIORITIZING EFFORTS TO SUPPORT MEMBERS OF DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES (DACS). MODELED ON IREC’S EXISTING GREEN WORKFORCE CONNECT PLATFORM, THE PROJECT WILL BE NATIONAL IN SCOPE AND POSITION TRAINING PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT DRAMATIC INDUSTRY SCALING. IREC WILL WORK WITH CURRENT AND HISTORIC SETO WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS AND OTHER PROMISING SOLAR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS TO IDENTIFY BEST PRACTICES FOR SOLAR WORKFORCE TRAINING. USING THESE BEST PRACTICES, IREC WILL PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (TA) TO OTHER TRAINING PROVIDERS, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS (CBOS), AND EMPLOYERS, AND OTHER ENTITIES IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH A NETWORK OF OPTIMAL TRAINING PROGRAMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, WHICH WILL BE CONNECTED TO JOB-SEEKERS, EMPLOYERS, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS THROUGH IREC’S NEW ONLINE PLATFORM. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL ONLINE PLATFORM WITH JOB TRAINING RESOURCES AND A TA PROGRAM THAT WILL HELP FACILITATE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN: ¿ AT LEAST 1,000 TOTAL WORKFORCE STAKEHOLDERS ¿ 250 VETTED TRAINING PROVIDERS ¿ 2,500 JOB SEEKERS

DEVELOPING CONSENSUS RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES WITH SOLAR AND SOLAR + STORAGE CODE ENFORCEMENT AND PERMITTING APPROVALS

IREC’S MODEL WILL WORK WITH SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS TO ACCELERATE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS ADDRESSING GAPS AND UNCLEAR REQUIREMENTS, PARTICULARLY IN NEW AND DEVELOPING SOLAR, STORAGE, EV, AND ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUPPLY EQUIPMENT (EVSE) MARKETS. DOE FUNDING IS CRITICAL TO SUPPORT THIS MODEL. THE PROJECT GOALS PLAN TO: 1. DEVELOP CONSENSUS RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES WITH CODE ENFORCEMENT AND EFFICIENT PERMITTING APPROVALS. 2. ADVANCE ADOPTION OF DATA-DRIVEN, STAKEHOLDER-APPROVED PERMITTING, INSPECTION AND ZONING BEST PRACTICES. 3. RECOMMEND UPDATES TO CODES AND STANDARDS TO SUPPORT EXPANDING CLEAN ENERGY DEPLOYMENT, ENSURING SAFE INSTALLATIONS AND REDUCING SOFT COSTS 4. PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL TOOLS AND TRAINING TO DIVERSE STAKEHOLDERS ON TOPICS COVERING SAFETY, RISKS, CODES AND STANDARDS RELATED TO PERMITTING OF SOLAR, STORAGE, EVS, AND EVSE.

PUERTO RICO RESILIENCE HUBS

DEFINING SAFE AND EFFICIENT INTERCONNECTION POLICIES FOR ENERGY STORAGE AND SOLAR + STORAGE TO IMPROVE INTEGRATION AND REDUCE COSTS

NATIONAL NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR FOR GEARED

ELECTRIC VEHICLE SMART PROGRAM MANAGEMENT: SUPPORTING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO ACHIEVE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO ELECTRIC MOBILITY THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A REPLICABLE REGIONAL COMMERCIAL ZEV CORRIDOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT PLAN TO ACCELERATE FREIGHT DECARBONIZATION BY LOWERING THE TOTAL COST OF FREIGHT PER MILE BY GUIDING THE DESIGN, LOCATION, AND SCALING OF RELIABLE CHARGING AND HYDROGEN FUELING INFRASTRUCTURE.

SUPPORTING GROWTH OF A SKILLED WORKFORCE IN THE BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY INDUSTRY