Right before lunch, SJF Summit attendees could go to a variety of information and strategy sessions. These groups were intended to be conversational and to help investors, economic developers and others get useful information they could apply to their efforts to build the new green economy. Here is a look at the “Accessing Stimulus Funds” strategy session:
Ernst & Young’s Paul Naumoff knows the federal stimulus is a complex system of funding.
“It really is a daunting task just to understand (how the funds) add up,” he said.
Naumoff helped SJF Summit attendees make sense of some of the $787 billion in federal funding during a strategy session before lunch. He focused on money that businesses and other entities can tap for tax credits and other incentives. Much of that funding is available to spur alternative energy research and implementation, he said.
Among the available pockets of money are $2.3 billion in tax credits for makers of advanced energy infrastructure. He said the federal government will consider many factors as they sift through grant applications, including the degree to which an area needs a stimulus.
Naumoff noted that while the stimulus programs are carefully constructed to prevent entities from “double dipping,” there are additional state and local incentive packages available that can help businesses get more assistance in developing and deploying green technologies.
Naumoff went over a number of different federal grant programs. One provides incentives for battery technology in alternative vehicles. “We need to improve the technology, so they’re looking for opportunities there,” he said.
He noted that while there is lots of money directly at the federal level, attendees could have greater success pursuing millions in funds at the state level. Those state dollars are allocated from the federal government.
For instance, he said North Carolina’s state energy office received $266 million in stimulus funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Those money breaks down as follows: $132 million for weatherization; $76 for state energy programs; and $58 million for energy efficiency and conservation block grants for local governments.
While quick to note that he doesn’t know all of the best approaches to accessing these funds, Naumoff did give a few pointers. For example, he said stimulus fund applicants should have good documentation and give a narrative to explain the need for monies in their local economy.
“You need to be very complete and accurate,” he said. “You just need to make sure you do all your paperwork.”
Attendees also were able to hear about various Web sites that allow users to learn about funding and incentives. Those include: grants.gov, fedconnect.net, ccr.gov and dsireusa.org.
The strategy session allowed attendees to jump in with questions and comments. One attendee offered the greater suggestion that applicants begin with the back of the document and work their way to the front; he said that approach could be better for timing reasons as applicants try to turn in all of the paperwork.
Naumoff also took time to discuss examples of strong state-based programs. He named Tennessee’s Clean Energy Technology Grant, the “Renew Energy” initiative and Ohio’s Advanced Energy Program as case studies.
The stimulus passed just months ago, and Naumoff noted that hardly any of the money had been spent at this point.
“Certainly in the next 24 months there will be a lot more dollars flowing,” he said.
