Communities, school districts or postsecondary institutions and other public organizations can apply for Community Energy Management (CEM) grants for energy-related implementation projects or energy audits and assessments in 2021, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy announced today.
The program provides funding to successful applicants for a range of activities from developing plans or benchmarking buildings to performing energy efficiency retrofits and upgrades or even installing renewable energy projects.
“Our CEM program has been a great success this year and EGLE is excited to see the many projects around the state that are helping communities and institutions save energy and money,” said Robert Jackson, assistant director of EGLE’s Materials Management Division. “We hope to build on that success in 2021 with funding for more energy management initiatives that will serve as local points of pride.”
Grants of up to $15,000 are available and will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until the funding is exhausted. For more information, contact Julie Staveland, Acting Manager, Sustainability Section, at StavelandJ@michigan.gov or 517-420-8544.
In 2020, EGLE’s Energy Services program funded 11 projects throughout Michigan by the Bay Mills Indian Community, City of Beaverton, Detroit Community Schools, Village of Elkton, City of Gladwin, Gladwin City Housing Commission, Ogemaw County Sheriff’s Office, City of River Rouge, 44th District Court in Royal Oak, City of Sandusky and the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region. The projects included solar installations, LED lighting retrofits, building benchmarking and audits, roof replacements and HVAC equipment upgrades.
At Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport, the City of Gladwin installed a 2.72 kilowatt solar array, which was partly funded through a CEM grant.
“We know that energy efficiency is important. It is one of the proactive things that we can do to keep operating expenses as low as possible,” City Manager Christopher Shannon said. “The Energy Services program helped us secure funding to install our first solar array in Gladwin. We are now offsetting operating costs with local generation of clean electricity. We hope to grow our capacity as costs come down.”
EGLE’s Energy Services program promotes healthy communities, economic growth and environmental sustainability through energy efficiency and renewable energy. The program supports individuals, businesses and communities by providing educational awareness as well as technical, financial and other assistance.
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