June 2024 Newsletter

ICAST Experts Weigh In: Redesigning the Federal Weatherization Assistance Program
By Ryan Kristoff | Vice President, Grant Programs
Mr. Kristoff grows the organization by securing the funding and partnerships necessary to build new programs, expand to new geographies, and add services to its one-stop shop.
In April, through Tennessee’s new Multifamily Weatherization Assistance Program, ICAST completed its first multifamily weatherization project, covering 80 units at the Summercrest Apartments in North Knoxville. The scope of work included HVAC upgrades, new lights, dryer vents, faucet aerators, insulation, smart thermostats, and more. This is just the first completion in a program that will provide services to households in Tennessee’s income-eligible multifamily properties and shelters over the next four years.
Summercrest is a perfect, ground-level example of ICAST’s broader efforts to scale Federal Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) investment in the historically underserved multifamily housing market. Since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was signed, we have been conducting extensive outreach and engagement to the WAP network for this purpose, through channels such as white papers, conferences, direct engagement, and more. Read more here

CATL unveils first mass-producible battery storage with zero degradation
Battery industry heavyweight CATL has unveiled its latest innovation in energy storage system design with enhanced energy density and efficiency, as well as zero degradation for both power and capacity.
Its new TENER product achieves 6.25 MW capacity in a 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container, increasing the energy density per unit area by 30% and reducing the overall station footprint by 20% compared to its previous 5 MWh containerized energy storage system. For example, a 200 MWh TENER power station would cover an area of 4,465 square meters. Read more here

The world will miss target of tripling renewable electricity generation by 2030 – IEA
The world is off track to meet the goal of tripling renewable electricity generation by 2030, a target viewed as vital to enable a swift global transition away from fossil fuels, but there are promising signs that the pace of progress may be picking up.
Countries agreed last December on a tripling of renewable power by the end of this decade. But few have yet taken concrete steps to meet this requirement and on current policies and trends, global renewable generation capacity would only roughly double in developed countries, and slightly more than double globally by 2030, according to an analysis by the International Energy Agency. Read more here

ICAST Policy Blog
White House Announces Over $12M to Support Local Energy-Saving Projects
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $12.1 million to three states and 14 local governments for the next round of formula grants through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program. These projects, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), come from the sixth tranche of formula awards granted to EECBG Program-eligible entities. Since the first awards were announced in October 2023, the program has awarded over $130.5 million to 151 communities. All the awardees can be found here.
California Regulators Reject Efforts to Boost Community Solar Efforts
The California Public Utilities Commission voted 3–1 to reject the “Net Value Billing Tariff” plan, which could have enabled the building of up to eight (8) gigawatts of community solar/battery projects over the coming decades, all of which connected to low-voltage power grids that sell low-cost power to subscribing households, businesses, and organizations. Read more here

Money on the Move: Accessing Incentives for Your Green Projects
By Ravi Malhotra
Originally published in Utah Rental Housing Journal
More funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) are working their way toward communities. For example, Utah’s Office of Energy Development is currently preparing its applications for the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s funded Home Energy Rebate programs. The Environmental Protection Agency is considering applications under the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program, through which multifamily properties in Utah may be able to access incentives for electric vehicle (EV) chargers. Read more here

Announcements: Program Updates
ICAST Exceeding Goals for Healthy Homes Grant. In 2022, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development awarded ICAST nearly $2 million for a Healthy Homes (HH) Production Grant in New Mexico. We have been diligently working on retrofitting low-income multifamily housing units, with the aim of significantly improving health conditions and energy efficiency for the residents.
As part of this program, ICAST has implemented an integrated Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) + HH assessment model to determine and execute the best scopes of work. Read more here