The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is seeking applications for Affordable Solar and Storage Predevelopment and Technical Assistance Grants.
Donor Name: New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
State: New York
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/31/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Affordable Solar and Storage Predevelopment and Technical Assistance will provide up to a total of $10,650,000 to address barriers to solar and energy storage installations benefitting low-to-moderate income (LMI) households not served by traditional onsite residential solar and providers of regulated affordable housing to LMI households. Individual awards will be based on the scope of the proposed project up to $200,000. Funding to proposals through this solicitation will offset costs for predevelopment and technical assistance work needed to implement solar and/or storage installations that benefit LMI households.
Target projects participating in the program will lead to:

The implementation and operation of solar and/or storage installations for affordable housing
The implementation and operation of community solar installations that will offer benefits to LMI households and/or affordable housing.

Eligible Proposals
Proposed projects should promote the development of solar or storage installations that benefit LMI households and/or providers of affordable housing for LMI households. Projects may provide direct energy cost savings to LMI subscribers through a community solar or storage installation, indirect benefits to LMI residents of affordable housing receiving energy cost savings through an onsite or remote installation, energy cost savings and resiliency benefits from energy storage, or some combination of these benefits. Project sites that will receive free technical assistance as part of NYC Housing and Preservation Development’s Solar Where Feasible program should be excluded from planned site assessments in project proposals. Planned benefits must be documented in the application.
Eligible proposed activities may include the development and implementation of any of the following:

Aggregated purchasing of solar and/or storage for LMI households
Models for the promotion of cooperatives and other community ownership structures to provide LMI community ownership opportunities of solar and/or storage projects
Financial analysis of solar and/or storage project viability including business analysis, savings estimate, and intended use for the project
Procurement, evaluation, and selection of solar and/or storage construction firm
Outreach including development of materials, workshops, trainings, and technical assistance
Pre-predevelopment” activities, including but not limited to early stage planning, concept development, team organization, and community engagement Site identification, establishment of site control, initial interconnection screening, structural analysis, and site feasibility
Securing of project financing or credit enhancement for project; and
Enhancing resiliency activities for LMI households, EJ communities, or disadvantaged communities by solar and/or storage projects, which includes, but are not limited to, predevelopment and technical assistance activities related to back-up systems for critical power loads in affordable housing and/or other community facilities serving LMI households.

Eligibility Criteria
Applications must be submitted by or include the documented participation of any of the following:

Owners, providers, or managers of regulated multifamily affordable housing, community land trusts, land banks, or portfolios of single-family affordable housing;
Local government agencies;
Community Development Corporations (CDC), Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), or other community organizations providing services to LMI households and/or demonstrating an LMI constituency
Prior recipients of predevelopment grants seeking to replicate and expand upon the success from a prior completed predevelopment project.
Applications may be led by or include the participation of service providers, consultants, and/or solar or storage developers under the following circumstances:
The affordable housing, community-based entity or local government agency applicant does not possess in house capacity to carry out the technical or specialized expertise required by the proposed activities
Solar or storage installers or developers may be co-applicants or partners on the proposed project when providing technical assistance outside of standard business services for development of a solar and/or storage project.

For more information, visit NYSERDA.