Please join the Thriving Communities Program and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to discuss electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Please see details below.

Learning Opportunities

The Interagency Working Group (IWG) for Energy Communities will be hosting a webinar — Getting Started: Meeting Communities Where They Are 

 

 March 6, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. EST. 


This webinar will highlight their planning and action guide for community leaders, volunteers, and change agents whose communities are facing economic transition. Register here.


DOT’s Thriving Communities Program and the Joint Office are hosting 

EV Charging infrastructure webinars 

View Previous Webinars 


Coming Up 


Workforce Development Tools and Resources

Mar 5, 2024  at 02:00 PM  Register Here 


The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office) will host a webinar discussing workforce training programs, job creation, and local and economic hiring preferences in the transition to electrified transportation. Workforce development experts across the federal government will provide updates on new resources that are available to stakeholders, including web content from the Joint Office, updates on funded projects from the Ride and Drive Electric Funding Opportunity, and resources across the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Transportation.  


EV Charging Infrastructure Office Hours Session: Q&A

March 20th, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. EST  Register Here 


Where you can ask staff specific questions about your community’s EV needs. Webinar topics include upcoming EV grant opportunities, permitting and site selection strategies, navigating zoning and building codes, utility coordination, curbside charging strategies, leveraging public/private investments, incorporating community charging into the national network, and more




Funding Opportunities

2 Federal grants that we have been hearing about from Resource Rural Network partners:


DOE’s Office of Clean Energy (OCED) Empowering Rural Areas (ERA) Funding

 

This week the EPA announced 17 community driven projects that have been awarded funding from the ERA program. Check them out here!

  1. DOE’s funding requires applicants to include a Community Benefits Plan (CBP) and encourages applicants to also develop a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA)


  • A Community Benefits Plan (CPB) outlines how the project will engage communities and labor (Tribal communities, specifically); invest in America's workforce, advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and implement Justice40 goals.
  • A Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) is an agreement signed by community benefit groups and a developer - identifying the community benefits a developer agrees to deliver in return for community support of the project. 


 Here are some links that provide more guidance developing Community Benefits Plans  and Community Benefits Agreements.


 Additional resources to learn more about DOE’s ERA Funding opportunity can be found on the ERA website, including a program fact sheet, a technical assistance fact sheet, and a geospatial dashboard tool to review community eligibility. 


 OCED has also recently released a publication that more broadly reviews energy-related funding opportunities for rural communities: Federal Energy Funding for Rural and Remote Areas: A Guide for Communities. 



 EPA’s Community Change Grant (CCG)

  • Environmental Protection Network (EPN) has developed a helpful guide and timeline for applying for Track 1 of EPA’s CCG funding. Check it out here
  • Check out these webinar recordings about accessing CCG funding from Community Change Technical Assistance (CCTA)


 


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