Connecticut (Updated 7.14.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 6.24.09
The Connecticut State Energy Office was awarded $15.4 million in energy-related ARRA funds in June, with an additional $19 million to be awarded after the state demonstrates successful implementation of its energy plan. In total, Connecticut’s Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) will receive an additional $4 million for solar thermal grant incentives and $3 million to expand existing incentives for PV systems.  The CCEF currently offers residential rebates for PV systems of $1.75/watt for the first 5 kW ($1.25/W for the next 5 kW), capped at 10 kW and $15,000.  For more information on Connecticut’s energy awards, see the website of Connecticut’s Office of Policy and Management.

District of Columbia (Updated 8.25.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 8.14.09
The District will receive $22,022,000 for its State Energy Program, and plans to use $1,403,365 to expand the existing Renewable Energy Incentive Program, which targets rebates for installation of solar thermal and geothermal systems at residences and businesses. Details of the plans can be found in the District’s Energy Stimulus Factsheet.

Florida(Updated 7.14.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 6.24.2009
Of Florida’s $126 million in State Energy Program stimulus funding, $20 million in grants will go toward the installation of PV systems on 190 schools and $10 million will be used for a Solar Energy Loan Program to deploy commercially available solar water heaters. The state’s Solar Rebate Program will receive $5 million. Finally, $1 million in grant monies will be used to install PV panels on state government facilities. For more information, please see Florida’s Energy and Climate Commission and Florida SEIA’s helpful summary of stimulus funding for solar initiatives.

Georgia (Updated 8.25.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 7.6.09
Georgia has received approval for its State Energy Plan, which will allocate over $82 million for various energy projects. $4 million will be awarded based on competitive applications to large-scale renewable energy projects, which will be available for online application beginning August 17th, 2009. GEFA will also be developing guidelines to distribute $4,495,000 towards its Clean Energy Property Rebate Program, which will offset approximately 35% of the cost of qualified renewable energy equipment, up to a cap which varies by technology. Solar water heating, solar PV and active solar heating technologies will qualify. Only commercial, industrial and non-profit entities will qualify for this program. More information is available at GEFA’s website.

Hawaii (Updated 7.14.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 7.10.09
Hawaii received $25.9 million dollars in stimulus SEP funds. Of this total, renewable energy will receive $7-11 million for a Renewable Energy Zone Regime Analysis, a consolidated online permitting system, and other renewable energy projects. See the below links for more information see Hawaii’s recovery web site and recovery briefing.

Idaho (Updated 7.14.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 6.24.09
Idaho will receive a total of $28.6 million SEP stimulus funds. Of this, the State will commit $2.75 million to a Solar Panels for Schools program. About $1.5 million of the State Energy Program funds will be used for Development of Renewable Enterprise Zones.  For more information, see Idaho’s SEP proposal.

Iowa (Updated 6.29.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 6.22.2009
On June 22nd, the Department of Energy announced its approval of Iowa’s State Energy Program (SEP) grants. Iowa has been allocated $40.5 million for its state program. This announcement releases $16.2 million of that amount. The Iowa Office of Energy Independence has released plans for several programs: public sector projects will receive $19 million, agriculture/commercial/industrial will receive $10 million, and non-profits will be eligible for $6 million. In addition $1 million will be provided for workforce training and development and $2 million for demonstration projects for technologies that are not widely used in Iowa, including distributed solar. For more information, see the Iowa Office of Energy Independence’s Recovery Act page or the DOE press release.

Kansas (Updated 7.14.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 6.24.09
Kansas was awarded $38.3 million dollars in stimulus funds for the State Energy Program. While a large majority of the funds will go towards a Revolving Loan Program for Energy Efficiency ($34.2 million dollars), about $350,000 will be used for an Energy Audit Rebate Program, and $250,000 will be used for an Energy Auditor Training/Scholarship Program. For more information, see the state’s ARRA summary.

Louisiana (Updated 8.25.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 7.20.09
Louisiana was awarded $71 million dollars in stimulus funds. Of this total, $2.6 million will go towards Education, Training, and Teaching Programs, including Renewable Energy Teacher Training. About $9.9 million will go towards a Renewable Energy Development Grant Program. For more information on these programs, see Louisiana’sSEP summary.

Michigan (Updated 6.23.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 6.22.2009
The Department of Energy announced approval of Michigan’s plan for its State Energy Program (SEP) grants on June 22. This announcement releases $32 million of $82 million in SEP funding allocated to the state. DOE initially released $8 million to the state for planning activities; the remaining funds will be released upon successful completion of program reporting milestones. The state plans to use a total of $57 million to reduce energy consumption in state-owned facilities by 25%. Individual projects will be assessed based on cost-effectiveness, energy savings and job creation criteria. Solar projects will be eligible to compete for these funds. The state will spend an additional $24 million “to facilitate energy efficiency in the private sector and drive supply chain diversification into renewable energy sectors.” For more information, you can view Michigan’s SEP Recovery Plan and the DOE press release.

Minnesota (Updated 6.29.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 6.24.2009
Minnesota’s state energy program (SEP) will receive a total of $54.1 million from the stimulus package. The state has announced that the money will be used for renewable energy and efficiency projects and job creation and retention. The Minnesota Office of Energy Security has announced that the state’s solar electric rebate program will receive an additional $3.4 million – a three-fold increase over the previous funding level. The Minneapolis/St. Paul Solar America Cities will receive an additional $3 million to fund solar training and promotion. The University of Minnesota will also receive funds for a solar testing laboratory. More information is available through the website of the state Office of Energy Security.

Nebraska (Updated 8.25.09)

Status: Approved by DOE7.10.09
Nebraska was awarded $30.9 million in stimulus funds for its State Energy Program. Of this, $5 million will be used for advanced renewable energy demonstration projects, $10 million for State Building Efficiency Projects, $1.9 million on a Renewable Energy Curriculum for community colleges, and $585,000 for Consumer Information on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. For more information, see the Nebraska Energy Office summary.

New Hampshire (Updated 7. 14.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 6.25.09
New Hampshire was awarded $25.8 million dollars in stimulus funds through the State Energy Program. Of this, $1.3 million will be used for university renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, $10.7 million for renewable energy projects for State-owned buildings, $1 million for a Small Business grant/loan program for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, $1.5 million for Innovative Initiatives, $2.5 million for a business and commercial loan/grant program, and $500k for an expanded renewable energy program. For more additional information, see the state’s SEP overview.

New Jersey (Updated 8.25.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 8.25.09
New Jersey plans $20.1 million of federal stimulus money for a State Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program, $17 million for a Clean Energy Program, $15 million for Innovative Energy Projects for New Jersey Businesses, and $7 million for NJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Solar Fund Program. The HMFA Solar Fund Program will supply grants for the construction of solar energy projects on income qualified multi-family buildings across the state, and will fund the remaining cost of the solar array after the federal ITC and any state rebates have been collected.

New York (Updated 8.25.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 7.6.09
The Empire State will receive a total of $123 million in SEP funds. Of this, about $31 million will be directed to four solar energy programs. The first program will fund 50 MW of PV in cooperation with the Long Island Power Authority through power purchase agreements. The second will fund 3 to 6 MW of PV projects through competitive, capacity-based incentives. The third will help provide on-the-job experience for PV installer students. The fourth program will fund installation of PV or solar water heating on public facilities. Go to the Synopsis of New York’s SEP plan.

North Carolina (Updated 7.14.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 6.25.09
North Carolina was awarded nearly $76 million in stimulus funds under the State Energy Program, and a total of $58 million in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants for state and local programs. Within this $75.9 million, $11.5 million will go towards supporting small businesses and industry through energy savings, such as commercial renewable energy system grants, nonprofit energy management programs, and implementing energy saving measures. About $8.85 million will go towards a “JobsNow” green workforce program, $18 million for a Revolving loan fund for renewable energy projects, $9.5 million for improving government energy efficiency, and $10 million for promoting residential renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. A final $13.5 million will go towards fostering renewable energy technology and resource innovation. For more information, see the North Carolina State Energy Office summary.

Ohio (Updated 7. 14.09)

Status: Pending Approval by DOE
Ohio was awarded $96 million dollars in SEP recovery funds. Renewable energy will receive $42.6 million dollars of this total, a part of which will go towards renewing manufacturing through deployment. New Energy Financing will receive $30 million dollars, distributed through a revolving loan program. For more detailed information, view Ohio’s ARRA summary.

Oklahoma (Updated 7.14.09)

Status: Pending Approval by DOE
Oklahoma will receive over $46 million in State Energy Program grants. Of these funds about $3 million will go towards the installation of renewable energy systems, including solar systems. Details are available on the Oklahoma Department of Commerce’s website.

South Carolina (Updated 7.6.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 6.24.2009
South Carolina has already received more than $25 million of its SEP award of over $50 million. $6 million will fund two programs that will promote the development of solar and other renewable energies, with each program receiving $3 million. The first is the South Carolina Clean Green Investment Incentives, which will support manufacturers of energy efficiency and renewable energy products in the state, and support the deployment of on-site renewable energy infrastructure at these companies. The second is the Competitive Renewable Energy Grants program, which will fund renewable energy projects by non-profit entities that are not eligible for funding through other stimulus programs. Details are available at the website for the South Carolina Energy Office.

South Dakota (Updated 7. 14.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 6.24.09
South Dakota was awarded $23.7 million in stimulus funds under the State Energy Program. These funds will be used to support the Energy Efficient Government program and to provide grants and revolving energy low interest loans to state institutions.
For more information, view South Dakota’s summary.

Tennessee (Updated 7. 14.09)

Status: Pending Approval by DOE
Tennessee intends to invest its entire award of $62.5 million in ARRA funds in a proposed Volunteer State Solar Initiative, a comprehensive solar energy and economic-development program to advance job creation, education, research, and renewable-power production.  The proposed initiative consists of two related projects: the creation of a Tennessee Solar Institute at the University of Tennessee, which will focus on basic science and industry partnerships to improve the affordability and efficiency of solar products; and a West Tennessee Solar Farm near Brownsville, a five-megawatt 20-acre power generation facility at the Haywood County industrial megasite that would be one of the largest installations in the Southeast and serve as a demonstration tool for educational, research and economic development purposes.  For more information, see the State Energy Program website of Tennessee’s Office of Economic and Community Development.

Vermont (Updated 7.14.09)

Status: Pending Approval by DOE
Vermont will receive a total of $22 million dollars in State Energy Program stimulus funds. The majority of the funds, $14.4 million dollars, will be used to expand the size and scope of the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund for renewable energy projects. About $2 million dollars will go towards a Public Serving Institutions’ Renewable Energy and Efficiency Program. More information can be found at http://recovery.vermont.gov/energy

Virginia (Updated 6.22.09)

Status: Pending Approval by DOE
The Commonwealth of Virginia intends to dedicate over $32 million of its $70 million in State Energy Program stimulus funding for grants and other incentives to encourage purchase of renewable energy systems. Another $15 million will be made available to households and businesses to support installation of solar and wind power systems ($2,000 per kW for PV systems and $1,000 per kW-equivalent for solar water heaters). For installation on local government buildings and public schools, $10 million will be made available. Finally, $13 million will be made available for installations on state government facilities. For more information, please see the Virginia Division of Energy’s ARRA website.

Washington (Updated 6.29.09)

Status: Approved by DOE 6.24.2009
The state energy program (SEP) in Washington state will receive $60.9 million in federal funding from the stimulus package. The Washington office of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) has announced that $38.5 million will be used for a revolving loan fund for renewable energy projects, and will be accepting requests-for-proposal beginning in July 2009. The state will also be reaching out to prominent clean energy companies to join the Clean Energy Leadership Initiative, which will provide advice and counsel to state policymakers on spending clean energy Recovery Act funds. More information is available on the Washington CTED website.

Wisconsin (Updated 7. 14.09)

Status: Pending Approval by DOE
Wisconsin will receive $55 million in SEP grants. Of these funds, a portion will be allotted to job creation and retention in businesses that manufacture clean energy products, such as solar industrial or manufacturing projects. In addition, Wisconsin will invest in advanced manufacturing of clean energy components such as Solar PV and water heating components. For more information, visit Wisconsin’s Office of Energy Independence website.

Wyoming (Updated 7. 14.09)

Status: Pending Approval by DOE
ARRA allocates nearly $25 million in SEP grants to Wyoming. Of these funds, $2.5 million will be allotted to the expansion of the Residential Photovoltaic program. The program will be amended to be based on a per kW credit which promotes both residential and commercial adoption. In addition, this program leverages tax credits available to consumers bringing the average cost of an installed system down from $20,000 to $10,000. For more information, visit Wyoming’s Business Council Web Page.

Contact info:
If you have additional information on specific projects or programs using ARRA stimulus funding to promote solar energy, please contact Justin Baca at jbaca “at” seia.org.