DOE Invests $10 Million to Support Clean Energy Transitions for Communities Across the United States

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced three new communities will receive a combined $10 million in funding and technical assistance to research, model, validate, and deploy local clean energy strategies. Teams of local governments, electric utilities, and community-based groups will work closely with experts from DOE’s world class national laboratories over two to three years through an in-depth partnership with the DOE’s Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) program. In-depth partnerships are one of three offerings from C2C to support communities with renewable energy and grid, mobility, building, and resilience challenges. Almost 300 communities across the United States have received support from C2C to advance their goals and drive clean energy progress across the country. This initiative highlights efforts to support communities in adopting sustainable energy solutions with locally tailored approaches to enhance reliability.

“We’re excited to welcome our new C2C partners and expand our national efforts to provide customized assistance to communities planning clean energy projects,” said Jeff Marootian, principal deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at DOE. “There are many pathways to a clean energy future, and our national lab experts stand ready to deploy world class research, tools and resources to help these teams find the best options to fulfill their local needs and goals.”

“We are so excited to apply NREL’s capabilities, such as the Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems Platform, to support a new set of in-depth partnership teams,” said Johney Green Jr., associate laboratory director for mechanical and thermal engineering sciences at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). “In-depth partnerships provide modeling, analysis, and validation of complex cross-sectoral challenges. Solving these challenges at the local level is essential to the energy transition.”

Duluth, Minnesota, Lane County, Oregon, and Nashville, Tennessee, will join six previously selected C2C In-Depth Partnerships to advance local clean energy strategies.

Graphic by U.S. Department of Energy

The selected communities are:

• Duluth, Minnesota. Minnesota is the nation’s largest producer of the iron ore used for steel production. Ecolibrium3, Minnesota Power, Itasca Economic Development Corporation, and the City of Duluth plan to develop renewable energy, hydrogen power, and a workforce to support a green iron plant in the region. The team will work with DOE lab experts to de-risk their plans to procure renewable energy and hydrogen and support industrial decarbonization in Northeastern Minnesota.
• Lane County, Oregon. Lane County, Oregon, has experienced wildfires, ice storms, heat waves, flooding, and more, just in the past few years, damaging the electric grid and causing extended customer power outages. Lane County, the Springfield Utility Board, Emerald People’s Utility District, and The Center for Rural Livelihoods will work with DOE lab experts to develop distributed renewable energy resources and grid modernization technologies to improve the reliability and resilience of electricity services. 
• Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville is among the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the nation, putting strain on its aging energy infrastructure. Nashville Electric Service, the Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Middle-West Tennessee Clean Fuels, and Urban League of Middle Tennessee will receive support to develop an integrated roadmap to achieve the metro-wide goal to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2050 while increasing resiliency and reliability for residents, and make progress on Tennessee Valley Authority’s net-zero carbon reduction targets. 

Learn more about the selected projects and previously announced in-depth partnerships.

Applications Open for Community Peer-Learning Opportunity

Applications are open for C2C’s peer-learning cohorts. Applicants from local governments, utilities, community-based organizations, and related organizations can apply to join 10–15 peers January–June 2025 to exchange strategies and best practices and learn from national laboratory experts on the following topics:

• Distributed wind
• Energy efficiency and renewable energy 101 in Appalachia
• Microgrids.

Learn more and apply by Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024.

Unique Short-Term Support Breeds Success

DOE also announced the release of nine new success stories from C2C’s expert match program. Expert match program provides between 40 and 60 hours of tailored technical assistance to help local governments, electric utilities, community-based groups, and others address short-term energy challenges. Communities from Billings, Montana, to Tok, Alaska, have received support to decarbonize diverse sectors and infrastructure. Applications for expert match are accepted on a rolling basis. Apply today. 

C2C is funded by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The World Resources Institute also assists with C2C’s peer-learning cohorts. 

Selection for award negotiations is not a commitment by DOE/NREL to issue an award or provide funding. Before funding is issued, DOE/NREL and the selectee will undergo a negotiation process, and DOE/NREL may cancel negotiations and rescind the selection for any reason during that time.