96718301

**Description:** The purpose of this award is to provide funding under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.

The recipient will implement greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction programs, policies, projects, and measures identified in a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) developed under a Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) planning grant.

Activities conducted through this grant will benefit all residents and visitors to the state of Nebraska through four main objectives:

- Implementation of ambitious measures that will achieve significant cumulative GHG reductions by 2030 and beyond;
- Pursuit of measures that will achieve substantial community benefits, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities;
- Complementing other funding sources to maximize these GHG reductions and community benefits; and,
- Pursuit of innovative policies and programs that are replicable and can be 'scaled up' across multiple jurisdictions.

**Activities:** The activities include:

1. Promote energy efficiency and electrification upgrades for non-residential facilities.

2. Incentives for solar projects on unused/contaminated land, ag and industrial facilities, and parking lot/feedlot solar canopies.

3. Residential pre-weatherization program.

4. Measures to reduce emissions in agricultural production.

5. Incentives for irrigation well engine conversion from diesel to electric.

6. Establish hub-and-spoke anaerobic digester/biogas hubs for agricultural waste.

7. Incentives for micro-solar arrays for critical infrastructure in low-income rural communities.

8. Incentives for production and use of biochar to reduce organic waste and sequester carbon in soil.

**Subrecipient:** Activities to be implemented either entirely or partially through subawards include:

1. Energy efficiency and electrification upgrades for non-residential facilities.

2. Residential pre-weatherization program.

3. Micro-solar arrays for critical infrastructure in low-income rural communities.

4. Solar projects on unused/contaminated land, facility rooftops, and parking lot/feedlot canopies.

5. Measures to reduce emissions in agricultural production.

6. Hub-and-spoke anaerobic digester/biogas hubs for agricultural waste.

7. Incentives for production and use of biochar to reduce organic waste and sequester carbon in soil.

**Outcomes:** The anticipated deliverables include:

1. Working with existing utility incentive programs to encourage energy efficiency upgrades in nonresidential buildings. Example: Install electric heat pumps to replace fossil fuel boilers.

2. Providing incentives to install solar arrays on non-greenfield sites, including contaminated land, industrial facilities, and parking lots.

3. Provide financial assistance with home improvements for low-income residents with the intent of making them eligible for the Nebraska Weatherization Assistance Program.

4. Establish carbon intensity (CI) score registry. CI refers to the carbon dioxide emissions per joule of energy generated during the production of a raw material within the lifecycle assessment of a finished product.

Companies that optimize crop production through precision and regenerative agriculture track and account for the values critical to CI estimates.

Regenerative agriculture—no-till, cover crops, increase soil carbon storage, and reduce chemical fertilizer use.

Pilot project focusing on community-based education and technical assistance. A demonstration site will be established and data collected.

Precision agriculture—the application of water, nutrients, and pest control according to the specific needs of a plant given its genetics and the environment in which it is being cultivated.

Program will provide financial incentives to farmers to purchase precision farming equipment and crop management technologies.

Technology includes telemetry equipment, precision irrigation equipment, nutrient sensing technology, yield mapping technology.

Nebraska Department Of Environment & Energy

1 - TACKLE THE CLIMATE CRISIS 1.1 - REDUCE EMISSIONS THAT CAUSE CLIMATE CHANGE

66.046 - Climate Pollution Reduction Grants

EPA Region 7: Kansas City [EPA - RO]

Nebraska United States

State-Wide

Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program: Implementation Grants (General Competition) (EPA-R-OAR-CPRGI-23-07)