The Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (LDENR) is now accepting applications for a new funding opportunity through its Louisiana Hubs for Energy Resilient Operations (HERO) Program.
Donor Name: Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (LDENR)
State: Louisiana
Parish: All Parishes
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/31/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
The ICEP process uses data-driven studies, combined with a community-informed approach, to enhance community resilience by planning for a network of HERO Hubs. The ICEP planning effort will help communities identify and prioritize ways to best support community energy needs during times of distress. The output of the process will yield a prioritization strategy based on community and stakeholder input, as well as a community-developed list of potential projects that could apply for LDENR’s future funding rounds for HERO Hubs.
The first Phase of the ICEP process will be the Community Planning Phase. The Community Planning Phase will consist of the following core elements:
- Needs Identification. Support communities in identifying their set of prioritized resilience needs.
- Coordinated Planning. Engage local governments, utilities, and key stakeholders at the local level to coordinate electric grid resilience planning.
Funding Information
- Total funding available $1,875,000
- Award Maximum Up to $125,000.
Grant Period
Grant funding will be available for a 12-month period, beginning as soon as October 2025.
Eligible Activities
Integrated Community Energy Planning Grants are funds from LDENR to support local efforts to conduct a community-driven planning process in coordination with local utilities and stakeholders. Local governments, utilities, and stakeholder partnerships will be expected to convene local workshops and working groups of stakeholders in a community planning process to:
- Identify localized hazards and resilience needs, with a lens on community members and impact;
- Identify critical facilities that support community needs, particularly during grid disruptions and other hazards, organized by the impact of outages on such facilities;
- Develop a portfolio of ideas and strategies that can increase electric grid and community resilience for the identified community needs;
- Incorporate community goals and plans into the process; and
- Compile relevant information, including a prioritized set of possible HERO Hub projects, from the community planning process into a standard report template to serve as inputs into the statewide planning process, which will support statewide resilience planning and the development of HERO Hubs.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible Lead Entities that can be lead applicants under this funding include:
- A unit of local government,
- An electric grid operator that is a small utility,
- An electric grid operator that is a large utility, or
- A critical facility;
- Priority will be given to lead applicants that are a unit of local government or a small utility.
For more information, visit LDENR.
