The CHARGE partners along with Clean Energy Group have been awarded a Cooperative Agreement through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) for up to $57 million in federal funds to provide solar microgrids to health centers in the rural Southeast (HHS Region IV).
With the help of this award, the CHARGE Partnership along with Clean Energy Group (a national nonprofit that works to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, clean energy future) can offer health centers in the rural Southeast tailored design, financing, and installation of solar microgrids at a fraction of the cost.
This funding is expected to cover up to 70% of the costs for solar and battery systems at health centers and can likely be combined with Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) direct pay rebates for even greater savings. The IRA may be coupled with the OCED Cooperative Agreement to allow health centers to receive up to 30% in direct pay rebates. This means health centers in the rural Southeast can install solar plus battery storage projects for a total discount of 70-100%.
Health centers may submit an application form (up to three sites) to participate in this initiative. Applications will remain open and rolling until funds have been allocated. The following criteria will be utilized to prioritize sites:
Health centers are eligible for 70-100% off the cost of a solar microgrid.
To be eligible for this program, health centers are asked to contribute up to 30% of the solar microgrid system investment.
The 30% contribution will cover a portion of costs, including planning/completing the solar microgrid installations and program costs.
After microgrid projects are completed, health centers may be eligible for a 30% tax rebate on solar microgrid investments through the IRA Investment Tax Credit and recoup the initial expense of the project.
Project partners are available to assist health centers in planning for this contribution through deposits or financing the health center contribution.
Further, the project partners will also be able to project long-term savings to the health center.
Example:
Below is an illustrative example of a $500,000 solar microgrid system that is eligible for a $150,000 IRA rebate. (It is estimated that the total costs of most microgrid systems at health centers will be between $500,000 to $1,000,000.)
Have questions about this program? Please email envhealth@nachc.org
Not located in the rural Southeast but interested in learning more about microgrids and the programs available for your specific health center? Just fill out this form and we'll get back to you with information about your area.