The Coalfield Solar Fund invites K-12 public schools and community colleges located in coalfield regions of Virginia and West Virginia to apply for grants to install solar energy systems on their campuses.
Donor Name: Coalfield Solar Fund
State: Virginia and West Virginia
County: Selected Counties
City: Norton
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/17/2023
Size of the Grant: up to $150,000
Details:
Benefits of the Grant Program
- Cost Savings
- Solar PPAs lock in long-term savings for schools and community colleges. Having confidence that power rates will remain fixed and low for 25 years allows for more accurate budget forecasts and frees up more resources for student learning.
- Workforce Development and Job Creation
- These projects will not only provide job opportunities for people in the community, but also workforce development opportunities for the school system’s students. Through partnerships with community colleges, students can earn college credits toward a certification in electrical work, solar installation, or related fields. When projects are available, qualified students can serve as paid Solar Apprentices, learning how to install solar arrays on their own schools.
- Learning Opportunities for Students
- Solar arrays installed at schools are fantastic learning tools for students interested in what is now the world’s fastest-growing energy source. Secure Solar Futures, in partnership with The National Energy Education Development project, the Science Museum of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University, have developed a unique educational offering for high school classes called Throwing Solar Shade® (TSS) that allows students to participate in a hands-on curriculum through NEED to conduct citizen science research.
- Through Coalfield Solar Fund partner Intuit, they will offer a curriculum in financial literacy, job readiness, and design thinking.
- These programs are meant to engage students in ways that challenge and grow academic and personal skills needed for success in the 21st century economy.
- Power Sector Diversification
- Coalfield communities have and will continue to serve as America’s energy capital. Meeting power needs from a greater variety of sources makes the entire power grid more resilient after disasters and more efficient by avoiding energy losses over long transmission routes. The grid of the future will be a network where consumers are producers making the whole system stronger and smarter.
- Community Benefits
- The Coalfield Solar Fund enables school districts in the identified energy communities to enjoy more of the benefits of solar energy, including:
- Cost Savings
- Workforce Development and Job Creation
- Learning Opportunities for Students
- Pollution Reduction
- Power Sector Diversification
- Energy Independence
- The Coalfield Solar Fund enables school districts in the identified energy communities to enjoy more of the benefits of solar energy, including:
Funding Information
- The Fund will award grants up to $150,000 on a competitive basis. Up to $100,000 per megawatt of solar can be installed on campuses of a successful applicant. Funding is provided by Intuit and issued by The National Energy Development Project (NEED), a nonprofit organization promoting energy literacy throughout the United States.
- Public K-12 schools and community colleges located in seven counties and one city in Southwest Virginia and 28 counties in West Virginia, all of which are defined as “energy communities” by the Inflation Reduction Act, are eligible to apply.
Eligible Applicants
Public school districts and community colleges in the following counties:
- West Virginia: Barbour, Boone, Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier, Harrison, Kanawha, Lewis, Logan, Marion, McDowell, Mercer, Mineral, Mingo, Monongalia, Nicholas, Preston, Raleigh, Randolph, Taylor, Tucker, Upshur, Webster, Wyoming
- Virginia: Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, Wise and the City of Norton
Conditions
Eligible grantees must agree to the following to receive the grant:
- Enter into 25-year solar PPAs with Secure Solar Futures
- Partner with SSF on workforce development opportunities for students, such as apprenticeships and in-classroom learning
For more information, visit Coalfield Solar Fund.
