Funding Energy Efficiency Contractors Through the IRA
*This episode is part of our Skilled Labor Series hosted by MCJ partner, Yin Lu. This series is focused on amplifying the voices of folks from the skilled labor workforce, including electricians, farmers, ranchers, HVAC installers, and others who are on the front lines of rewiring our infrastructure.
Mary MacPherson, a program manager in the Office of State and Community Energy Programs at the DOE, oversees energy efficiency and electrification workforce development programs funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the IRA.
In this episode, Mary and Yin discuss residential energy efficiency training programs, addressing crucial challenges in the skilled labor workforce. They explore the underlying reasons for the workforce gap, from an aging labor force to accessibility barriers in education and certification processes.
Funding is a significant lever to address these bottlenecks. In mid-July of 2023, the US Department of Energy announced that states and territories could apply for a pool of $150 million to train the next generation of residential efficiency and electrification contractors. These include electricians, energy auditors, HVAC contractors, plumbers, and more. The ultimate goals include lowering training costs, enhancing certification support, fostering diversity in the energy efficiency workforce, and providing economic mobility opportunities while promoting high-quality contracting in the residential sector.
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Episode recorded on Aug 11, 2023 (Published on Sep 22, 2023)
In this episode, we cover:
[02:46]: Contractor Training Grants in the IRA
[04:23]: Mary's clean energy background
[07:08]: Overview of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE)
[09:39]: The role of State Energy Offices
[13:00]: Skill and accessibility gaps in the energy efficiency trades
[15:27]: Challenges in the residential heat pump workforce
[18:11]: Reducing barriers to entry
[20:10]: The significance of certification and testing
[22:56]: State examples: Maine and Illinois
[25:24]: How DOE allocates funds to states
[28:34]: How to help funds flow to your state
[30:52]: Community benefits and advancing Justice40 goals
[33:55]: Mary's vision for success in 2030
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Yin Lu (00:01):
Hey, everyone. Today we're talking residential energy efficiency training programs with the Department of Energy. As we all know, and we've talked about endless times, we need more folks in the skilled labor workforce to meet the demand for electrification as a country. There's a few bottlenecks on why there is this gap to be filled. One, there's an aging workforce in the trades. Two, there's a perception of trades work being "less good" than other types of work. Then there's the educational pathway access and financial and geographic accessibility barriers that exist. And there's difficulty in navigating licensing and certification depending on what jurisdiction you're in.
(00:37):
A huge lever to help address all of these bottlenecks is to put more funding toward building state level programs to get more people aware and into the trades, train existing folks on current technologies, and help them navigate getting certified and coming into the workforce. As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the US Department of Energy in mid-July of 2023 announced that states and territories can apply for a pool of $150 million in funding to train the next generation of residential efficiency and electrification contractors. These include electricians, energy auditors, HVAC contractors, plumbers, home performance folks, insulators and the likes. Once states receive this funding, they will develop and implement workforce training programs to help homeowners upgrade their homes for maximum energy efficiency.
(01:24):
Some near-term goals include reducing the cost of training, better supporting the testing and certification of folks that have gone through this training, and developing and implementing more state programs so we can build awareness and get more people into the pipeline who want to train in the trades. Some of the long-term goals include diversifying the energy efficiency workforce and connecting underrepresented people with opportunities for economic mobility, and stimulate high quality contracting across the residential sector.
(01:52):
My guest today to talk about all of this is Mary MacPherson. She's a program manager on the workforce development team in the Office of State and Community Energy Programs at the DOE. Mary manages energy efficiency and electrification workforce development programs funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the IRA.
Cody Simms (02:12):
I'm Cody Simms.
Yin Lu (02:14):
I'm Yin Lu.
Jason Jacobs (02:15):
And I'm Jason Jacobs. And welcome to My Climate Journey.
Yin Lu (02:21):
This show is a growing body of knowledge focused on climate change and potential solutions.
Cody Simms (02:27):
In this podcast, we traverse disciplines, industries, and opinions to better understand and make sense of the formidable problem of climate change and all the ways people like you and I can help.
Yin Lu (02:40):
With that, Mary, welcome to the show. Excited to learn from you today.
Mary MacPherson (02:44):
Thanks for having me in. I'm excited to be here.
Yin Lu (02:46):
So let's talk about the Contractor Training Grants Program. Give us a history of how this program came to be and how it fits into the IRA bill that everyone at this point has heard of.
Mary MacPherson (02:55):
As you and many others know, the Inflation Reduction Act passed in September of 2021. That bill included billions of dollars for clean energy investments that included about nine billion for home energy rebates that American homeowners can use to electrify their homes and also make their homes more energy efficient. That's two separate programs, and kind of the third prong to that program is the Contractor Training Grants, which includes $200 million to train the residential energy efficiency contractors, many of whom will be delivering those DOE-funded home energy rebate measures.
(03:34):
So we want to make sure with these programs that there is both funding for consumers to make the home energy upgrades, but also that there is a qualified workforce that's ready to work with those consumers on the upgrades.
Yin Lu (03:48):
It's like two sides of the same coin. You have the incentives now for people to say, "Let's do upgrades in our homes," but if you don't have the workforce that's trained and able to meet those demands, then we have a lopsided marketplace that doesn't make sense.
Mary MacPherson (04:02):
Exactly.
Yin Lu (04:02):
I think most people probably are familiar with the rebates and home efficiency upgrades programs, but today I'm so excited to talk about this other side of the coin on meeting the workforce demands. Before we jump into the nitty-gritties, maybe if you can tell us a bit more about you, your background, and your professional career so far that's led you to working at the DOE now.
Mary MacPherson (04:23):
I grew up spending a lot of time outdoors and always enjoyed being in nature. And like many, I saw An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's documentary, in high school, and that made me realize that climate change was a lot more imminent than I had previously thought. So I knew I wanted to work to mitigate climate change, and over the years discovered the clean energy industry and was excited both that clean energy is a tool for reducing emissions, but it's also innovative and everyone has a relationship with energy.
(04:55):
So I studied public policy and graduated and moved up to DC as many bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young adults do. Started doing research on energy efficiency policies and programs because I was excited about the prospect of really creating jobs and saving people money while also saving the environment. So I, over the years at ACEEE, researched state level energy efficiency policy. I also looked at inclusive energy efficiency workforce development programs to see how states and utilities could make sure they're training workers and individuals for jobs in energy efficiency with the focus on the people who have not historically really had access to those jobs.
(05:40):
The energy efficiency industry unfortunately is not very diverse. It's mostly men, and it's mostly white people. And so there's really an opportunity through these workforce development programs to diversify the industry, bring in more women and people of color and other underrepresented individuals who are from disadvantaged communities. And so while I was at ACEEE, I started feeling like I wanted to be in the trenches really designing and implementing policies. So my eyes moved to DOE. Especially with the passage of the IRA, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, I knew that DOE is really an exciting place to be with all this new funding and all this work to do to get the funding out the door.
(06:23):
I came across this opportunity to tackle energy efficiency workforce development programs at DOE, and I jumped on it. So that was about a year ago. It's been really exciting to be at the agency at the forefront of figuring out how to implement these programs and parsing out what Congress wants us to do and what we sense the public wants out of these programs and how to really bring those two together.
Yin Lu (06:48):
For those people who aren't familiar with ACEEE, can you tell us a bit more about the organization? It feels like, from how people have described ACEEE, it's just this organization that has been around and really shaped in the background what policy could look like backed by a bunch of research. And so I think it's worth underpinning what the organization does.
Mary MacPherson (07:08):
ACEEE, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, is a nonprofit that's been around since 1980s with the main mission of doing research on energy efficiency policies, programs, and technologies. My former employer, ACEEE, has teams that look at state and local policy. They look at utility programs and federal policies. They also do research on human behavior, how we can really incentivize and encourage humans to use less energy while not sacrificing anything.
(07:44):
And so the goal in that research is to figure out how to empower people and provide them the resources to use less energy while still living the quality of lives that they want to live. I think people often think energy efficiency means putting on a sweater, which it doesn't necessarily. It actually means replacing your AC unit with one that runs more efficiently so you can still keep your room at the same temperature but at a lower cost. ACEEE writes papers on those topics and also does a lot of convening of conferences to bring people together and think about how the industry is evolving and what new technologies we want to incentivize and what policies and programs will help us get those technologies out to homes and businesses and institutions.
Yin Lu (08:32):
I'm sure that ACEEE's work over the years had a non-trivial part to play in shaping what the IRA and the bipartisan bill looks like today. And so with that segue, let's set the scene. This program that we are talking about today, the Contractor Training Grants Program, we're talking $150 million in grants for states that will be channeled through the respective State Energy Offices to reduce the cost of training, testing, and certifying residential energy efficiency and electrification contractors. So this is going to help attract and educate new workers and train and empower existing workers, which then will help support the small medium businesses all across the country to meet the growing demands in their local jurisdictions on electrification.
(09:20):
Speaking as someone who waited months to get the heat pump installers to have a fully trained staff to come and retrofit my house, it is something that as a consumer I think the pain points are felt. And so very excited that this program is launching. Maybe let's break down the foundations of what we just talked about. So State Energy Offices where all this money will get funneled through to build these programs, who runs these offices? What's their relationship to this state legislature, and what's the relationship to utility providers? If you can just give us a 101 on that.
Mary MacPherson (09:54):
State Energy Offices are state level executive agencies with directors that are usually appointed by governors to advance their energy policy priorities. It varies from state to state where the state energy office is based. Sometimes they are housed within the Department of Environmental Equality or Protection. They're often in that department. Sometimes they are housed in the Department of Commerce or even the State Department of Agriculture. So it just depends on how a governor classifies their energy policy priorities. State Energy Offices, their funding is subject to approval from state legislators. Many State Energy Offices receive state appropriations for clean energy programming... or energy programming, fossil fuel energy programming too.
(10:46):
States vary widely in the size of their staff for energy offices. I think most are around 12 to 18 people, but they could be as small as three staff members or as large as 3,000 staff members. That is something DOE navigates, is making sure that our programs meet the needs of the smallest and the largest State Energy Offices together. These offices manage a portfolio of incentive programs for the public, for the residents in their state, and the businesses. Those programs are funded through both state and federal sources.
(11:20):
Utilities, as you know, are also a huge source of energy efficiency programming, usually funded through rate payer dollars. State Energy Offices often coordinate with utilities around the types of energy efficiency programs they're offering and maybe other energy policy priorities outside of the energy efficiency space. One thing to note also is that State Energy Offices are a primary audience for the new DOE programs funded through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Law. So we're working to get these funds out to State Energy Offices and also work with states to understand what their needs are, what the timing of these programs needs to be, and how we can support them with deploying this unprecedented level of funding.
Yin Lu (12:06):
In looking at the small State Energy Offices, like the sub 10 people versus the 3,000 people, what states are those and what's the level of complexity of the 3,000-people office versus a sub 10? Is it a function of the population of the state? I'm just curious why they're such a variety of sizing for these offices.
Mary MacPherson (12:31):
This is not an analytical answer, so probably just maybe fun background for this piece, but it's usually a matter of political priorities and whether a governor feels like they want to allocate more state dollars towards the energy office. Some of the better resource states are ones who would expect like California and Massachusetts, and some of the less resourced states, many are in the southeast, but it's a matter of how big their budget is as determined by the legislature.
Yin Lu (13:00):
When we talk about residential energy efficiency and electrification contractors, what type of jobs does this definition include and how are these identified as priorities, this is where the money should go to train these types of tradespeople?
Mary MacPherson (13:15):
Most of these jobs are the ones that are necessary to deliver the energy efficiency and electrification upgrades that DOE will be funding through the Home Energy Rebate Programs. Energy efficiency jobs are mostly in the construction industry. Jobs that we'll be training people for under this program could include electricians, energy auditors, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contractors, HVAC contractors, plumbers, home performance contractors, insulators, or construction laborers. They're really the folks that are going into homes and evaluating, kind of looking around to figure out what are the energy saving opportunities. And then they're the folks who are actually installing those upgrades whether by adding more insulation in the walls or replacing windows or installing new heating or cooling systems or maybe installing new water heating and cooling systems as well.
Yin Lu (14:10):
And where are you seeing the trades that you just listed, electricians, energy auditors, HVAC folks, plumbers, et cetera, where are you seeing the biggest delta in terms of the need to ensure there is a ready and able workforce? Where's a code red?
Mary MacPherson (14:23):
Code red. It's hard to pinpoint one specific job area where there's the biggest gap, but we're seeing both skill gaps and accessibility gaps. DOE for decades has been working to incentivize new technologies and get them into the market, but a lot of workers don't have experience with some of those technologies such as heat pumps. A lot of these jobs have historically been very hands-on and required eyeball observations from contractors, but these jobs are often becoming more digitized and analytical, and so that requires across those job categories that we make sure folks are comfortable working with data collected through maybe smart thermostats and using that data to diagnose different energy efficiency opportunities in buildings. So we really need to make sure that folks across those occupations have the skillset to do the hands-on work as well as read the charts and graphs and collect the data that our more digital buildings are starting to collect.
(15:27):
Our partners at the Pacific Northwest National Lab have also done a lot of research on heat pump workforce needs, and they've identified significant challenges, for one overall, recruiting people into the skilled trades, but also more specifically in the residential heat pump and water heater space. They're finding that there's an opportunity to prepare people both pre-field and in the field using on-the-job training for heat pump installers and technicians. There's also an opportunity to train the distributors and salespeople around heat pump technologies to make sure they're comfortable with them and know how to describe them and their benefits to consumers. On the outside of the skill gaps we see access gaps as well. There are folks who don't have the capacity to train for energy efficiency jobs. Maybe they don't have childcare for their kids or they don't have the transportation to get to a training facility or a new job. And so these folks are working to overcome other burdens that we hope states will start to address using the funding from these programs.
Yin Lu (16:36):
Hey, everyone. I'm Yin, a partner at MCJ Collective, here to take a quick minute to tell you about our MCJ membership community, which was born out of a collective thirst for peer-to-peer learning and doing that goes beyond just listening to the podcast. We started in 2019 and have grown to thousands of members globally. Each week we're inspired by people who join with different backgrounds and points of view. What we all share is a deep curiosity to learn and a bias to action around ways to accelerate solutions to climate change.
(17:03):
Some awesome initiatives have come out of the community. A number of founding teams have met, several nonprofits have been established, and a bunch of hiring has been done. Many early stage investments have been made as well as ongoing events and programming, like monthly Women in Climate meetups, idea jam sessions for early stage founders, Climate Book Club, art workshops, and more. Whether you've been in the climate space for a while or just embarking on your journey, having a community to support you is important. If you want to learn more, head over to mcjcollective.com and click on the Members tab at the top. Thanks, and enjoy the rest of the show.
(17:36):
It sounds like heat pumps is an area where there's a lot of demand, and it's new technology, so we need to train up the existing skilled labor workforce. And this touches electricians, HVAC contractors, plumbing at the very core, and then there are folks that are involved in doing the energy assessments on the outside. And then there's people that have to know how to talk about the technology and sell it to the end consumers. And so I see these concentric rings of impact in terms of the skillsets that we really need to ensure people are well-trained to bring this new technology... Well, not new, it's existed for decades-
Mary MacPherson (18:10):
Yeah, evolving.
Yin Lu (18:11):
... but really gotten to the level of efficiency. And then there's this other orthogonal area where if people wanted to come in and do this, there's things that prohibit them from pursuing the trades, like time availability and things like childcare and making a living wage while doing what is probably years of training. Let's talk about how to reduce those barriers. One of the key short-term goals is to reduce the cost of training. I think cost is a big barrier to entry. What does that look like?
Mary MacPherson (18:42):
Yeah, a lot of states already have training programs underway, whether some are run by the state, some are run by utilities or local governments or even community-based organizations, so groups who are already working to bring new people into the energy efficiency workforce. So states can use these Contractor Training Grants from DOE to provide grants to existing training providers maybe to help them buy equipment, or to pay the trainers who are teaching their participants, or to pay for classroom space to design curriculum, or even to recruit and market the program.
(19:20):
One challenge with the energy efficiency workforce is that people don't really know about it, you don't learn about it in school, and energy efficiency jobs exist within other industries like construction and manufacturing. It's not as maybe discreet as some of the other jobs we all grew up learning about. It costs money to market the industry and market these jobs and the training programs that will get people into the jobs. So I think reducing the cost of training, it could involve training for hard and technical skills as well as soft skills. Something I've heard time and time again is that we not only need someone who knows how to do an energy audit or install a heat pump, but we know someone who knows how to show up to a job site on time and communicate effectively and just navigate the workplace.
(20:10):
Many of these jobs don't require college degrees. And so folks could be coming out of high school or maybe vocational schools or community colleges entering a training and certification program. I don't mean to say that none of those folks have the soft skills needed, but folks might be across the spectrum of readiness for the workplace. And so it's important to train people as humans and not just someone who delivers technical skills, but someone who needs to know all around how to be successful in the workplace.
Yin Lu (20:42):
Providing certification and testing, why is that so important?
Mary MacPherson (20:47):
We're asking states to train people towards industry-recognized certifications to make sure that the people they train have skills that we know are going to meet the needs of industry, of the companies, and the technologies that we're deploying. States can use Contractor Training Grant funding to pay for certification registration costs for a group of individuals, and maybe even to prepare those individuals for the exam that they'll take in order to get that certification. It's not free to get a certification or take the test, and we hope that states will use these funds to help cover those costs, especially for individuals who would not otherwise be able to afford it.
Yin Lu (21:28):
I know this is a new program that has just gotten underway, but I wonder if in the past there have been programs similar to this, maybe not at the scale that we currently have, where federal governments have worked with State Energy Offices to help build more workforce readiness. What might some of those examples be of those that have been successful in the past?
Mary MacPherson (21:52):
DOE's Building Technologies Office has a variety of Better Buildings groups, which are basically collaborative peer to peer convenings where they bring folks together maybe from higher education institutions or from commercial building owners, or in this instance, DOE brought together folks who are tackling energy efficiency workforce development, companies and training providers and agencies, a variety of stakeholders. Their goal was to really make sure they were coordinating around best practices for energy efficiency workforce development and working with those Better Buildings Workforce Accelerator participants to identify pathways for folks in the energy efficiency industry and help bring people into those pathways.
(22:42):
That program did not provide grants to participants the way this one does, but it's more of a technical support approach that DOE has taken to bringing people together on energy efficiency workforce development. We are also already seeing a lot of great state examples on this front. Many states are incentivizing the deployment of the technologies themselves while also preparing the workforce to deliver those technologies, similar to how DOE is funding both the Home Energy Rebates and the Contractor Training Grants.
(23:15):
One example that I would point to is the State of Maine. In 2019, they set a goal to deploy 100,000 residential heat pumps by 2025, and they actually just passed that goal. So they set a new one to deploy 175,000 heat pumps by 2027. In 2021, the Maine Community College System, they expanded their heat pump workforce programs, and they even launched a new heat pump workforce training lab at one community college. So I think that's a great example of how a state can both spur demand for a technology while preparing the workforce that will be working on that technology.
(23:57):
One other example I'll share is in Illinois. In 2021, they pass the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which included a bunch of funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency investments, including a Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program, which offers both financing and mentorship to clean energy contractors with a focus on the contractors who are based in environmental justice communities. That program rolls out this fall, but I think it's a really great example of how we can support workers and businesses as a whole in this industry in accessing the funding available for new clean energy technologies.
Yin Lu (24:40):
So in both of those examples, in Maine and in Illinois, the state legislature said, "We need to do this as part of our plan to decarbonize," and the federal government said, "Great, we will support you and provided some level of funding in addition to the state itself funding these programs on training more people to be able to do the work to meet those goals of heat pumps deployed." Is that right?
Mary MacPherson (25:03):
So those two examples were both only state funded. I'm not aware of DOE funding that went to them. And so I think they serve as examples of the types of programs that we would love to expand using DOE funding.
Yin Lu (25:16):
Okay, the accelerant there is now a lot more funding coming from the federal government to make more of these programs happen at a higher volume.
Mary MacPherson (25:23):
Exactly.
Yin Lu (25:24):
I can't help but wonder how the funding will get distributed. Talk through that, like how would this money get depleted, and what's the process to apply for getting this type of funding? And then also, what role can an individual like me, I don't live in California anymore, but if I was still living in California, how can I make a difference in ensuring that some of this money goes to my state?
Mary MacPherson (25:48):
So DOE is allocating these funds to states using a formula that we've used for a number of years for the State Energy Program, which is one of our flagship programs for State Energy Offices. The formula takes into account state's population as well as their energy usage. We applied that formula to this pot of $150 million. And one thing I'll clarify as well is that the Inflation Reduction Act allocated 200 million for states under this program. We just issued a funding announcement for 150 of that 200 million that we're going to allocate using this formula to states. We're saving the remaining money for a competitive funding announcement that we hope to issue in spring of 2024. Just for your own context.
(26:35):
The $150 million in formula funding, we use this existing DOE formula to calculate how much money each state is eligible to apply for. In our funding announcement, we publish those numbers, and they range from about $850,000 in some of the territories and smaller states to about $11 million in some of the larger states and everywhere in between. And so we've told states how much money they're eligible for under this announcement, and we've now asked states to start working on their applications for the money. So in those applications, we're asking states to develop a workforce development plan, including how many residential energy efficiency contractors they think are currently in their workforce and how many they think they'll need in the years to come, and then what their training approach is going to be and who they want to target using these dollars. We're asking states to let us know which of the three audience members they want to target, at least one, new workers, people who are maybe recent graduates from high school or vocational schools or community colleges or even universities. The second group is incumbent workers, maybe those in adjacent industries. And the third is contracting firms themselves. States can use this money to support businesses and business ownership among workers.
(28:04):
We're also asking states to submit a community benefits plan that tell us how they're going to make sure these dollars and the ensuing training programs actually benefit community members, particularly disadvantaged community members. So state applications will be due this October, and DOE will work with states over the months to come through early 2024 to issue awards. And then throughout 2024 and beyond, states will be working to design and deploy these trading programs.
Yin Lu (28:34):
If I really want my state to take benefit of all the money that could be allocated or that will be allocated to my state, what's the most effective way that I can help make that happen?
Mary MacPherson (28:45):
I would encourage you to reach out to your State Energy Office. Many State Energy Offices will have contacts listed on their website. Some states even have public web pages that summarize their pursuit of this DOE funding, whether for this program or other programs. And so I think making sure your energy office knows that you're excited about this program is really important. Especially if you're a business already working in this space or you know that this is going to fill a workforce gap in your community or in your state, making sure your state knows about that will be really important, so that you can have a seat at the table in helping them decide if or how to use these funds.
Yin Lu (29:26):
Are there certain states that might need the funding more than others, and if so, why? And are those also the states that are incentivized to apply for this money?
Mary MacPherson (29:35):
DOE thinks that every state can use these funds. The US Energy Employment Report shows that there are over two million workers in energy efficiency, and they are in almost every county across the US. This industry is growing nationwide, and so states can really support that job growth today and sustain it for tomorrow using these dollars. But I do think this funding will be particularly helpful for states that don't already have energy efficiency workforce development programs, because we know this growth is happening in every state and not every state has the resources or capacity to prepare the workforce to meet that demand. And so that's where I'm really excited for DOE funding to help play a role in closing the gap.
Yin Lu (30:20):
Is there a wishlist of states that you want to put to the top to apply for this funding?
Mary MacPherson (30:25):
I don't have one. We've talked internally about coming up with such a list of the folks. I think there's a middle group of states, maybe 20, 25 states who don't already have the money to do this themselves but are still interested in pursuing it. There are states above that who have the money, and it probably won't be worth their time in their opinion to pursue this money. There are also states who are below that group who don't care about DOE's money.
Yin Lu (30:52):
Something that you touched upon earlier that is worth a double clicking on is community benefit. Can you talk a bit more about how DOE will work with the states to prioritize communities that might be more disadvantaged than others for these training programs?
Mary MacPherson (31:06):
DOE is asking states to draft a community benefit plan that addresses four core elements. One, we want to see that they're supporting meaningful community and labor engagement, and that states are actually taking feedback and applying it from community members and labor groups, that their feedback is being incorporated into program design. We also want to see that states are producing strong and enduring partnerships with employers. And third, that they're advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We want to see that states have plans to recruit underrepresented groups from disadvantaged communities into these jobs to make sure that everyone is really reaping the benefits of our growing clean energy economy. The fourth of those four community benefit plan components is advancing DOE and President Biden's Justice40 target, to ensure that 40% of the benefits of these programs are directed towards disadvantaged community members.
(32:06):
So DOE is still figuring out how we're going to support states on their community benefit plans. The funding announcement is still pretty hot off the press. It was only about three weeks ago that we released it. And so we're giving states a chance to dig in, and we're going to be working with them over the next few months to make sure that we're answering their questions, and where they need it, providing technical assistance either to states as a group or to individual states to help them design their community benefits plans and also design their workforce development plans.
Yin Lu (32:40):
And then what does deployment period look like for this funding?
Mary MacPherson (32:43):
We're expecting applications this fall, and DOE hopes to get the money to states by early 2024. The program will run from 2024 through 2028. We expect that next year is when the rubber will really hit the road for states to start, well, first designing it as much as they need to beyond the application they submit to DOE, and then implementing it and engaging the right partners. I think some states will probably subcontract with companies or nonprofits who have experience in this space and could play a key role in implementing their programs. So we might see requests for proposals from states next year or in 2025 to get those partners on board.
(33:29):
And how quickly states get the money out will really depend on a variety of factors. One is whether they already have a workforce development program underway, and another is whether they have a staff member who has experience with energy efficiency workforce development. We see that a lot of states are really excited to get these funds out the door, but I think it's going to vary widely in how long it takes states to actually get the money out and train people.
Yin Lu (33:55):
Last question. Best case scenario once the $150 million has been fully deployed, and let's say it's 2030, what would success look like?
Mary MacPherson (34:05):
Our ultimate goal is to have a skilled residential energy efficiency workforce that's ready to meet local demand for energy upgrades. So after the money is spent, this Contractor Training Grant funding, we envision a more diverse energy efficiency workforce that includes people who haven't historically accessed these opportunities. There will be clear pathways for state-supported training that connect people with jobs and careers in the energy efficiency industry. Those workers will have delivered upgrades to homes, including a number that have been funded through DOE's Home Energy Rebate Programs. So my goal is really for people in any community across the US who want to make their house more comfortable and more energy efficient to be able to find a qualified contractor to work with on those upgrades. Once DOE has deployed the Contractor Training Grants, we see that people will live more comfortably in their homes. Small and medium businesses will be thriving. We will have provided economic mobility for disadvantaged community members, and we will be living in more decarbonized communities.
Yin Lu (35:15):
Well, this is a beautiful vision to end on. I'm so excited for this recent funding announcement, and $150 million to go for building a workforce that we so direly need as a country is a great thing. And so, Mary, thank you so much for the work that you do and for coming onto the show and telling us more about what you've been spending so much time on lately.
Mary MacPherson (35:33):
Thank you, Yin. It's been a pleasure chatting with you.
Jason Jacobs (35:36):
Thanks again for joining us on the My Climate Journey podcast.
Cody Simms (35:40):
At MCJ Collective, we're all about powering collective innovation for climate solutions by breaking down silos and unleashing problem-solving capacity.
Jason Jacobs (35:49):
If you'd like to learn more about MCJ Collective, visit us at mcjcollective.com. And if you have a guest suggestion, let us know that via Twitter at mcjpod.
Yin Lu (36:02):
For weekly climate op-eds, jobs, community events, and investment announcements from our MCJ venture funds, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter on our website.
Cody Simms (36:12):
Thanks, and see you next episode.
