The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the projects that have been awarded funding from two Weatherization Assistance Program Innovation Grants: The Enhancement & Innovation (E&I) Funding Opportunity Announcement and the Sustainable Energy Resources for Consumers (SERC) grants. DOE awarded three rounds of WAP Innovation grants in 2023, including twenty-one E&I grants and fifteen SERC awards.
Awarded projects for both funding sources are listed below.
Awarded Enhancement and Innovation Projects
Projects awarded E&I funding total $37.9 million. View the details of the recipients in the table below.
| Project Title | Organization | City, State | Award Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
TOPIC AREA 1: PLACE-BASED INITIATIVES | |||
| Athens Energy Opportunity: Embedding Weatherization Readiness and Solarization into Community Development Practice in 3 High Energy-Burden Neighborhoods of Athens, Georgia | Athens Land Trust | Athens, Georgia | $1,179,336 |
| WAP Enhancement for Milwaukee Homes | Community Relations Social Development Commission | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | $2,000,000 |
| Native to Native Energy Sovereignty - A Path to Net Zero GHG Emissions Through Deep Energy Retrofits, Electrification and Onsite Renewables | Red Cloud Renewable | Pine Ridge, South Dakota | $1,901,613 |
| Preparing the Frontlines for a Climate Future through Holistic Weatherization | Houston Advanced Research Center | Houston, Texas | $1,970,345 |
| Emerald Connections: Community-Centered Weatherization and Health | Emerald Cities Collaborative | Washington, D.C. | $1,999,001 |
| Ohio's First Net-Zero Neighborhood: American Addition | Impact Community Action | Columbus, Ohio | $2,000,000 |
TOPIC AREA 2: MULTIFAMILY HOUSING | |||
| Advancing Comprehensive Multifamily Housing Retrofits with Equitable Electrification in the Midwest | Elevate Energy | Chicago, Illinois | $2,000,000 |
| Launching WAP 2.0 | International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology | Lakewood, Colorado | $1,999,419 |
| Holistic Decarbonization, Energy Efficiency & Health Improvements in Multi-Family Affordable Housing | Seattle Office of Housing | Seattle, Washington | $1,800,000 |
| Electrifying New York's Affordable Housing | Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. | Columbia, Maryland | $2,000,000 |
TOPIC AREA 3: SINGLE FAMILY & MANUFACTURED HOUSING | |||
| Healthy Homes Initiative in Maricopa County | FSL Home Improvements | Phoenix, Arizona | $1,999,981 |
| Weatherization Innovation through Roofing and Electrification (WIRE) Access Project | Minnesota Department of Commerce | Saint Paul, Minnesota | $2,000,000 |
| Electrify Monterey Bay | Central Coast Energy Services | Watsonville, California | $2,000,000 |
| Built to Last (BTL): Holistic Home Improvement Pathways | Philadelphia Energy Authority/Philadelphia Green Capital Corp | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | $2,000,000 |
| Reducing Deferrals by Integrating Healthy Homes with Weatherization | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Champaign, Illinois | $1,852,269 |
| Alaska Weatherization Support Project | Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc. | Anchorage, Alaska | $1,000,000 |
TOPIC AREA 4: WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT | |||
| Toledo Healthy Homes Training Center | Neighborhood Housing Services of Toledo, Inc. | Toledo, Ohio | $1,921,456 |
| Cultivating a New Generation of Diverse WAP Workers | Interstate Renewable Energy Council | Albany, New York | $2,000,000 |
| Weatherization Workforce Expansion and Diversification | Oregon Training Institute | Klamath Falls, Oregon | $1,731,702 |
| La Casa De Don Pedro Energy Efficiency & Green Job Training Program | La Casa De Don Pedro | Newark, New Jersey | $600,000 |
| Vermont Weatherization Training Center | Vermont Office of Economic Opportunity | Waterbury, Vermont | $2,000,000 |
Awarded Sustainable Energy Resources for Consumers Projects
Fifteen awarded SERC projects for Program Years 2022 and 2023 total $20.8 Million. View the details of the recipients below.
Program Year (PY) 2023 Awarded Projects
Colorado’s Energy Office will leverage awarded SERC funds with Community Scale Pilot Project (CSPP) funds and formula weatherization funds to pilot the decarbonization of a manufactured-home community in rural Colorado. Colorado will install cold climate air source heat pumps in ten homes resulting in the reduction of carbon emissions increased energy efficiency and comfort, education on energy consumption behavior, and new job opportunities in the State’s green energy workforce.
Subgrantees:
- Energy Outreach Colorado ($230,000)
Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development will deploy SERC funding to replace existing heating systems with cold climate air-source heat pump technology in mobile homes in a 41-unit mobile home park, a project funded through CSPP. This project will address barriers to electrification through the installation of upgraded panels capable of supporting air-source heat pumps, enabling future capacity for renewable energy measures and/or electric vehicle charging stations at these residences.
Subgrantees:
- South Middlesex Opportunity Council ($950,000)
MaineHousing is using SERC funds to help low-income homeowners reduce their energy burden while improving their health and safety through the installation of 1,060 cold climate air source heat pumps in low-income homes in all 16 counties of Maine, including five Tribal communities. The heat pumps will save homeowners an estimated $973 per year. Through this SERC project, Maine will move closer towards its statewide goal of electrification and reducing fossil fuel consumption by over 1.3 million gallons of oil or kerosene.
Subgrantees:
- Aroostook County ($554,080)
- Community Concepts ($952,140)
- Downeast Community Partners ($573,040)
- Kennebec Valley Community Action Program ($634,760)
- Penquis Community Action Program ($634,760)
- Waldo County Action Partners ($226,700)
- Western Maine Community Action ($317,380)
- York County ($952,140)
The Minnesota Department of Commerce (Commerce) is maximizing weatherization benefits and enhancing energy conservation through the Minnesota Efficiency Window Replacement Project (MWERP), an evidence-based approach that replaces old, ineffective, and deteriorated windows with high performing windows. Minnesota’s WAP Service Providers will deliver the SERC grant program services, replacing windows on up to 89 single family homes.
Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services will boost their weatherization program by combining the full benefits of WAP with new technologies allowed under SERC. By piloting solar PV, heat pump hot water heaters and in-home monitoring systems on six homes this project aims to increase energy savings, improve indoor air quality and health, and reduce carbon emissions.
Subgrantees:
- HRDC District IX ($237,227)
New Hampshire’s Department of Energy will oversee two SERC projects seeking to enhance energy reliability in cold climates and demonstrate the potential of new mainstay technologies for its Weatherization Assistance Program. The first project will install heat pump-driven space heating systems in kerosene-fueled manufactured homes in low-income clients’ homes. The second project will install heat pump hot water heaters along with solar PV arrays on the roofs of eligible single to four-unit dwellings in central New Hampshire.
Subgrantees:
- Tri-County Community Action Program, Inc. ($232,175)
- Community Action Program Belknap-Merrimack Counties, Inc. ($481,327)
New York State Homes and Community Renewal will oversee two SERC-funded projects. The first project aims to promote affordability and equity by electrifying 20 units. The project will deploy technologies such as air-source heat pumps, solar PV systems, ground-source heat pump systems, and spray foam insulation. Additionally, applicable fossil fuel burning appliances in homes will be switched out for electric appliances.
The second SERC project will install cold climate air-source heat pumps in homes that require new heating systems due to non-functionality or unsafe conditions in their current systems. Many of the households served currently rely on fossil fuels to heat their homes and the project anticipates most of them will switch to electricity.
Subgrantees:
- Albany Community Action Partnership ($277,500)
- Community Development Corporation of Long Island ($555,000)
The Ohio Department of Development is leveraging SERC funding with an existing WAP Enhancement & Innovation grant to support the creation of the first net-zero neighborhood in Ohio. The installation of solar PV, ducted air source or mini-split heat pumps, and high-performance heat pump hot water systems in single family homes of the American Addition neighborhood, the oldest African American neighborhood in central Ohio, will reduce resident’s annual electric consumption by 7%, for an average cost savings of $350 per year. Additionally, the Empowered! Program and solar workforce development training program will offer residents the opportunity to join the clean energy workforce.
Subgrantees:
- IMPACT Community Action ($2,000,000)
Oklahoma Department of Commerce will expand the use of materials and technologies to previously-weatherized homes of low-income households, focusing on Oklahoma’s most disadvantaged communities. Planned SERC technologies include air source heat pumps, tankless water heaters, solar water heater systems, and cool roofs for up to 49 site-built and mobile homes.
Subgrantees:
- Northeast Community Action ($100,000)
- Community Development Support Organization ($200,000)
- Community Action Development Corporation ($150,000)
Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development is maximizing weatherization effectiveness by installing innovative technologies in low-rise garden style multifamily communities. This project will install multiple technologies in homes, using a combination of cold climate mini-split heat pumps, energy recovery ventilators, humidifiers, or space conditioning systems. These technologies will address moisture-related indoor air quality issues that still affect residents, even after weatherization, along with heating and cooling functionality, increased comfort, and improved indoor air quality.
Subgrantees:
- Community Housing Partners – CHP Energy Solutions ($1,429,890)
Program Year (PY) 2022 Awarded Projects
The New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Office of Housing Preservation will install heat pump water heaters, air source heat pumps, solar photovoltaic, and geothermal technologies on weatherization units, working particularly in opportunity zones and with Native American tribes.
The New Mexico Weatherization Assistance Program is transforming WAP Projects into Grid Efficient Buildings by installing solar photovoltaic, battery energy storage systems, heat pump water heaters, air source heat pumps, and building energy management systems in multifamily projects. Project work will be focused in opportunity zones is expected to improve home energy performance by at least 30% over baseline.
The Minnesota Weatherization Assistance Program will prepare weatherization participants for the changing climate by outfitting homes with prefabricated exterior expanded polystyrene (EPS) walls. Minnesota is focusing its work in historically redlined districts in Hennepin County, Minnesota, and particularly engaging census tracts with a high Social Vulnerability Index.
The Pennsylvania Weatherization Assistance Program is demonstrating that additional energy savings can be achieved in weatherized homes through expanding energy saving materials and technologies, specifically hybrid water heaters. The project will target five census tracts that are Opportunity Zones and underserved rural communities (USDA-designated towns) in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
The Massachusetts Weatherization Assistance Program will install air-source heat pump technology in combination with the traditional components of full-scale weatherization measures at each project dwelling unit. The project will target Municipal Utility service territories and Gateway Cities facing social and economic challenges. Historically underserved due to lack of utility funds for low-income retrofits.