The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing potential availability of cooperative agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources to assist agency with conducting and implementing important energy efficient agricultural operation evaluations on multiple private landowner properties throughout Massachusetts.
Donor Name: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
State: Massachusetts
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/21/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 5 Years
Details:
The purpose of this opportunity is to obtain services from a partner organization to expand energy efficiency services in the state. The agreement holder will perform a minimum of ten site visits each year of the agreement to private landowners throughout Massachusetts to assist them on energy efficiency technical assistance that includes writing and implementing on-site energy improvement plans. Those site visits should lead to 10 new NRCS program applications per year. To expand NRCS staff knowledge on energy efficiency and further increase energy improvement adoption in Massachusetts the agreement holder should also hold 1-2 trainings per year for NRCS staff and affiliates to learn energy efficiency techniques.
Specific objectives for the agreement include:
- Hire/identify with NRCS approval an energy improvement technical specialist who will assist private landowners through NRCS programs by writing and implementing on-site energy improvement plans, conducting site visits, and having a minimum of 10 NRCS energy applications per year come out of the energy improvement specialists work in the agreement. NRCS will work with agreement holder on prioritizing energy site visits if there is more interest than availability of the energy improvement specialist.
- The energy improvement technical specialist will work with local NRCS field offices to maintain communication on what customers they are working with on energy and will inform them and invite them to participate in any customer site visits. Energy Improvement specialists will send after visit summaries and on-site energy improvement plans to local NRCS field offices after site visits.
- Energy improvement technical specialists are responsible for performing outreach to secure new NRCS customers interested in energy. NRCS can also forward customers to energy improvement specialists for technical assistance.
- On-Site Energy Improvement Plans must be developed and implemented to meet all applicable NRCS policies and requirements including applicable Conservation Practice Standards (372, 374, 672), Design and Implementation Activities (DIAs), and Conservation Evaluation and Monitoring Activities (CEMAs).
- The agreement holder must conduct 1-2 energy improvement technical hands-on field trainings for NRCS staff and associates per year in the agreement. The agreement holder will work with NRCS to approve training topic, location, and agenda.
- Agreement holder will develop a summary report at the end of the agreement term outlining the approach, benefits, roadblocks, and outcomes of the work completed to identify and improve energy efficiency on agricultural operations across Massachusetts. The report shall include alternatives for future work in continuing and expanding on-farm energy efficiency practices.
Funding Information
- The Federal funding agency expects to award approximately $400,000.
- NRCS Massachusetts is making a funding opportunity available for applicants to submit proposals with an award ceiling of $400,000 and a minimum project award of $200,000
Project Period
Projects may be up to 5 years in duration.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants and applications must meet eligibility criteria by the application deadline to be considered for award. Eligible applicant type is determined by the implementing program statute. Applicant entities identified in the SAM.gov exclusions database as ineligible, prohibited/restricted, or excluded from receiving Federal contracts and certain Federal assistance and benefits will not be considered for Federal funding, as applicable to the funding being requested under this Federal program. Neither foreign entities nor individuals are eligible to apply for this opportunity.
- This opportunity is open to all domestic applicants.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
