November 2024

In This Issue

  • Clean Cities & Communities New Director Training

  • Funding Opportunities

  • ChargeWest Electric Highway Project

  • Events

  • Member Spotlight: ASU Sustainable Cities Network

VSCCC Director Don Covert and Co-Director Brenna Covert

VSCCC board members and members on panel. From left to right, Scott Chandler (City of Phoenix), Andy Rhea (Southwest Gas), Tim Tiger (Southwest Gas), Scott Brandeberry (Lancer Energy)

Clean Cities & Communities New Director Training

Last month, Valley of the Sun Clean Cities Coalition was proud to help host The Clean Cities and Communities New Director Training Conference here in Phoenix. The 2 day event brought new Clean Cities directors and co-directors together to learn the basics of running a coalition and to network and learn from their peers.

We started the event with a tour of the Li-Cycle Battery Recycling Facility for the event organizers. Representatives from the National Energy Labs, Department of Energy and other fellow Clean Cities Coalitions got a personal tour of the state of the art facility. Our board Chairman, Mike Heath from SRP, was kind enough to provide transportation for our whole group. Thank you Mike!

After the tour, we were happy to be one of several peer presenters at the event. We had a wonderful time sharing how we run our coalition and giving the new directors helpful tips and tricks. We were also lucky to be able to bring some our board members and stakeholders with us to the event. Our board members Scott Chandler from the city of Phoenix and Andy Rhea from Southwest Gas, each gave a presentation explaining what their organizations are doing with alternative fuels.They also graciously agreed to sit on a panel with our other members and talk to the participants about their work with our coalition. Thank you so much to our panel members, Andy Rhea, Scott Chandler, Tim Tiger, and Scott Brandeberry for volunteering your time to give your insight to our new directors!

The event was a success and participants left with new knowledge, useful insights and contacts that will help them as they begin work in their own coalitions. Every time we attend these kind of events, we are reminded just what an amazing group of people the Clean Cities and Communities Network is made up of. Everyone in the organization is incredibly supportive of each other and passionate about what they do. VSCCC couldn’t ask to be a part of a better group of people and we look forward to participating in more Clean Cities events in the future.

Learn more about the National Clean Cities and Communities Network by visiting the website. https://cleancities.energy.gov/coalitions/

Funding Opportunities

Transmission Acceleration Grants Program

The Transmission Acceleration Grants Program will support state and Tribal efforts to accelerate and improve transmission siting and permitting and strengthen transmission planning for critical transmission lines (100 kV or greater) in any area of the country. Eligible participants are state or Tribal entities, or entities working with them such as regional transmission planning organizations, regional-state committees, or not-for-profit organizations.

Applications due by Jan. 21, 2025.

Community Microgrid Assistance Partnership

The Community Microgrid Assistance Partnership technical assistance and funding opportunity is focused on electrically isolated and underserved communities in Alaska, Hawaii, as well as on Tribal lands in the Great Plains and Southwest. Participants can plan a resilient microgrid system, make improvements on an existing system, build workforce capacity, or add renewable energy.


Applications due by Dec. 20, 2024

Tribal Clean Energy Planning and Development


Under the Tribal Clean Energy Planning and Development FOA, the Office of Indian Energy is soliciting applications from Indian Tribes, which include Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Village Corporations, Intertribal Organizations, and Tribal Energy Development Organizations, to:

  1. Conduct clean energy planning

  2. Comprehensively assess the feasibility and viability of deploying clean energy technology

  3. Conduct clean energy design and development activities.

DOE expects to make approximately $25 million of federal funding available under this FOA, with approximately 20–40 awards that range from $100,000 to $2,500,000.

Utility and Grid Operator Technical Assistance

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is offering utilities and grid operators four new opportunities to accelerate clean energy and transmission deployment in communities nationwide. With support from top national laboratories, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), utilities and grid operators can access a range of support options, from informational webinars to multi-year guidance from subject matter experts, along with exclusive access to national lab facilities. Four new custom technical assistance opportunities are now available: 

1. Key Assist: up to $1 million in technical assistance over 2 years. Applications are due by Nov. 26, 2024. 

2. Interconnection Assistance: $100,000–$150,000 per project for 1 year, focusing on short to medium-term solutions. Applications are due by Nov. 26, 2024.  

3. Rolling Technical Assistance: up to 100 hours of subject matter expertise from NREL and other DOE labs. Applications are accepted at any time. 


4. Utility Planning Resources for Energy Transition webinar series: Starting in November, weekly presentations will be offered to address challenges in the evolving energy landscape, complete with expert discussions and Q&A. Sign up to receive email invitations for upcoming webinars.

APS EV Fleet Advisory Service Program

APS recently started a new Fleet Advisory Services program specifically to support qualifying commercial and municipal fleets in APS territory. This is a no-cost advisory service that provides insightful information for consideration, whether cities are actively looking into EVs or just interested in understanding their potential to convert their fleet at some point in the future. There is no obligation to make the conversion post-service – program participation provides an opportunity to gain information and custom-tailored recommendations for your fleet.

SRP Electric Vehicle Chargers & Fleet Electrification Program

Salt River Project (SRP) offers a comprehensive Fleet Electrification Assessment program. SRP fleet electrification experts will review current fleets, help develop an EV conversion roadmap, create a custom analysis, discuss recommendations on EV’s and provide rebates.

ChargeWest Electric Highway Project

VSCCC is pleased to announce that we are participating in the Department of Energy funded ChargeWest project. ChargeWest is an EV corridor collaborative across eight states in the Intermountain West region. Project participants are committed to improving electric corridors throughout rural gateway communities, state and national parks, and scenic byways. The states involved are Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. This project aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions along heavily traveled routes while enhancing access to scenic byways and national parks. We look forward to working with our western state neighbors to improve electric charging infrastructure along the routes that connect our states as well as along our state’s beautiful scenic byways.

Events

Clean Fuels Conference

January 20-23, 2025. San Diego, California

The Clean Fuels Conference connects key players of the biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel industry for one can’t-miss event. Clean fuels for land, sea and sky come together for a week of expert sessions, exhibits and showcases. Attendees include clean fuels producers and marketers, distributors, feedstock providers, fleet managers, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), ESG officers and members of the media.

Valley of the Sun Clean Cities Coalition is proud to have ASU’s Sustainable Cities Network as a partner. The ASU Sustainable Cities Network connects ASU’s research and technical capabilities in sustainability with the challenges facing cities, towns, and Tribal communities across Arizona. The network is a way for communities to share knowledge, identify best practices, and coordinate efforts to better understand and solve local issues. Learn more about ASU’s Sustainable Cities Network on their website. https://globalfutures.asu.edu/sustainable-cities/

VSCCC strives to provide alternative fuel information to all people within our region. In order to increase our outreach abilities we are working with local agencies to share our newsletter and clean fuel resources with an even greater audience. We are proud to partner with the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona's Air Quality Department, ASU's Sustainable Cities Network and Maricopa County Air Quality Department.

OUR NEWSLETTER IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN SPANISH

Translations done by Diego Montemayor- Diego@cleanairaz.org

THANK YOU TO OUR MEMBERS!

City of Phoenix