Over $2.7 billion in formula grants are now available to U.S. states, territories, local governments, and Indian tribes under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, funded for the first time under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This Program, authorized in Title V, Subtitle E of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) and signed into Public Law (PL 110-140) on December 19, 2007, provides funds to units of local and state government, Indian tribes, and territories to develop and implement projects to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions in their communities. The Program is administered by the Office of Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs (WIP) in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

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General Post-Award Procurement Questions
Click here (PDF 58 KB) to view Post-Award Procurement Questions and Answers.

EECBG Competitive Funding
DOE is now accepting applications for up to $454 million in EECBG competitive grants. The competitive grants Funding Opportunity Announcement (PDF 394 KB) was issued on October 19, 2009 and applications will be accepted through Grants.gov until December 14, 2009. Awards will be made in two topics areas: (1) The Retrofit Ramp-up Program and (2) General Innovation Fund for Ineligible Entities. For complete details, please visit our Competitive Grants page.

Solution Center Updates
The Solution Center, the online home for EECBG technical assistance, has recently been updated with a several new resources, including information on how to apply for DOE's Technical Assistance Project, materials from our recent "So You've Submitted Your EECBG Application: What's Next?" webinar, and a guidance document on revolving loan funds. Please visit the Solution Center to access these new resources, as well as best practices, our complete EECBG webcast series, and other information resources.

Formula Funds Awarded
To date, DOE has awarded more than 1,400 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, totaling over $1.6 billion. Below is a list of the most recent EECBG formula grant awardees. Please join us in congratulating these cities, counties, states, and Indian tribes. For a complete list of awards to date, please visit our Grantees page.

Transparency and accountability are important priorities for the EECBG program and all Recovery Act projects. All grantees have specific measures they must take before spending the full amount of awarded funding, such as ensuring oversight and transparency, submitting a conservation strategy to the DOE, and complying with environmental regulations.

Appeals Process
The deadline for filing appeals regarding eligibility determinations for direct formula grants for units of local government under the EECBG Program was July 24, 2009. These appeals were reviewed and adjudicated by DOE's Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), and decisions were issued from July 23, 2009, through September 15, 2009. All case decisions, granted and denied, can be downloaded here. If an appeal was successful, a unit of local government was provided an opportunity to submit an application consistent with the requirements announced in the EECBG FOA. For complete details on the process, please see OHA's EECBG web page and this Notice (PDF 81 KB), published in the Federal Register, June 23, 2009.

ARRA Technical Assistance
EECBG grantees may now apply for technical assistance through DOE's Technical Assistance Project for State and Local Officials. Staff at DOE and its national laboratories can provide assistance to states, counties, municipalities, U.S. territories and tribal governments with technical aspects of ARRA projects, strategies, policies, and programs. Technical assistance includes help developing or reviewing an energy strategy (e.g., how to develop the metrics that are required for reporting on the success of the strategy), or help with a specific technology or detailed program plan. Information on how to apply for this assistance can be found here.

Revolving Loans Funding
One of the activities encouraged under the EECBG Program is the creation of long-term funding mechanisms to extend the impact of ARRA funds, such as revolving loan funds. A new guidance document on revolving loan funds is available here (PDF 517KB).

Solution Center

To help eligible grantees develop energy efficiency projects and programs that meet the conditions and guidelines of the EECBG Program, technical assistance resources are provided on this website. Please visit our Solution Center to access best practices, our EECBG webcast series, and other information resources.

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