Portions of New York eligible for ARC energy grants

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has recently announced the fourth round of a grant competitionto assist communities in leveraging renewable-energy and energy-efficiency resources to revitalize their economies. ARC expects to provide seven to fifteen awards of up to $75,000 each, for a total of $545,000 in awards, to successful applicants. Portions of NYS, including the Southern Tier and Central New York, are ARC communities.

ARC will fund two complementary activities as part of this grant competition: the development of community energy plans; and the implementation of a demonstration energy-efficiency or renewable-energy project in target communities. Outcomes of funded projects could include:

• Preparation and adoption of a community energy plan by a local government jurisdiction.
• Implementation of a renewable-energy or energy-efficiency project such as:
• Production and/or use of renewable energy, including biofuels, biomass, solar, or wind energy, to include local siting of production facilities.
• Distribution of renewable energy, to include customer purchasing commitments.
• Expansion or start-up of "clean energy" businesses, including support for business incubation programs or targeted business financing programs.
• New construction or renovations that follow "green building" and LEED certification guidelines.
• Installation of energy-efficiency equipment in public or nonprofit facilities.
• Nonprofit organizations, government entities, and public education institutions located within the Appalachian Region are eligible to apply. Private, for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply.

An independent review panel will evaluate applications. This panel will include leading energy-efficiency and renewable-energy organizations and federal, state, and local partners. The review panel will forward recommendations to ARC for approval.

Since the launch of the ARC Energy Initiative in 2006, the Commission has provided over $10 million for projects. Information on featured projects is available on the ARC Web site.

Please visit www.arc.gov/energy for more information on ARC's energy activities.