Overview
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act provide diverse funding opportunities for various recipients. Opportunities include energy efficiency upgrades, renewable energy development, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and various transmission-based programs—including transmission upgrades, smart grid investments, grid innovation grants, and resiliency funding. Many programs emphasize coverage and investment in rural areas.
State and federal agencies also have existing programs that provide assistance.
View information on federal and state grant, loan and rebate program opportunities below, organized by recipient and program.
Agencies include:
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Montana Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS)
Residential
- Helps participants to improve the heating efficiency of their homes and reduce their energy consumption.
- Income-qualifications required for participation.
- Includes an energy audit to determine the most cost-effective weatherization measures for your home, including a furnace tune-up, caulking, client education, insulation, weather-stripping, storm windows, replacement of broken glass, or repair of exterior doors.
- For more information, visit: Montana DPHHS Weatherization Assistance Program
- Provides rebates to industrial or manufacturing facility owners, commercial building owners, multifamily building owners, utilities, or energy service companies for the replacement of a qualified energy inefficient transformer with a qualified energy efficient transformer.
- Funding amount: $10,000,000
- For more information, visit: DOE Energy Efficient Transformer Rebate Program
Commercial Small Business
- Funding for underutilized technologies and technical assistance in the Rural Energy for America Program.
- Funds are anticipated to support renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects for more than 41,500 farms and small businesses.
- Funding amount: $303 million
- For more information, visit: USDA Inflation Reduction Act Programs Page - In Development
- Additional funding for Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans and Grants in Montana program.
- Provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Agricultural producers may also apply for new energy efficient equipment and new system loans for agricultural production and processing.
- For more information, visit: USDA Rural Energy for America Program - Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & Grants
- Provides rebates to industrial or manufacturing facility owners, commercial building owners, multifamily building owners, utilities, or energy service companies for the replacement of a qualified energy inefficient transformer with a qualified energy efficient transformer.
- Funding amount: $10,000,000
- For more information, visit: DOE Energy Efficient Transformer Rebate Program
- Smart Grid Grants are designed to increase the flexibility, efficiency, and reliability of the electric power system, with particular focus on:
- Increasing capacity of the transmission system.
- Preventing faults that may lead to wildfires or other system disturbances.
- Integrating renewable energy at the transmission and distribution levels.
- Facilitating the integration of increasing electrified vehicles, buildings, and other grid-edge devices.
- Smart grid technologies funded and deployed at scale through this program must demonstrate a pathway to wider market adoption.
- Funding amount: $3 billion ($600 million/year for Fiscal Years 2022-2026)
- For more information, visit: DOE Smart Grid Investment Program
Local and Tribal Governments
- Provide financial assistance to improve the resilience, safety, reliability, and availability of energy and environmental protection from adverse impacts of energy generation in rural or remote areas of the United States.
- Funding amount: $1 billion ($200,000,000 appropriated annually from 2022 – 2026)
- For more information, visit: DOE Energy Improvement in Rural & Remote Areas Program
- Assists rural small businesses and agricultural producers by conducting and promoting energy audits and providing Renewable Energy Development Assistance.
- Funds may be used for energy audits, renewable energy technical assistance, and renewable energy site assessments.
- For more information, visit: USDA Rural Energy for America Program - Energy Audit & Renewable Energy Development Assistance Grants in Montana Program
- Funding for Rural Utilities Service (RUS) loans for renewable energy infrastructure. The Act requires the agency to forgive up to 50% of the loan amount.
- Eligible entities include electric service providers, including municipals, cooperatives, investor-owned and Tribal utilities.
- Funding amount: up to $1 billion
- For more information, visit: https://www.rd.usda.gov/inflation-reduction-act
- Awaiting U.S. Department of Transportation guidance
- Competitive grant program to strategically deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure and other alternative fueling infrastructure along designated alternative fuel corridors. At least 50 percent of this funding must be used for a community grant program where priority is given to projects that expand access to EV charging and alternative fueling infrastructure within rural areas, low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, and communities with a low ratio of private parking spaces.
- For more information, visit: USDOT Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grants - In Development
- With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s new Clean School Bus Program provides funding over the next five years (FY 2022-2026) to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models.
- Funding amount: $5 billion
- For more information, visit: EPA Clean School Bus Program
- Grants to carry out demonstration projects for pilot energy storage systems.
- For more information, visit: DOE Energy Storage Demonstration and Pilot Grant Program
- Smart Grid Grants are designed to increase the flexibility, efficiency, and reliability of the electric power system, with particular focus on:
- Increasing capacity of the transmission system.
- Preventing faults that may lead to wildfires or other system disturbances.
- Integrating renewable energy at the transmission and distribution levels.
- Facilitating the integration of increasing electrified vehicles, buildings, and other grid-edge devices.
- Smart grid technologies funded and deployed at scale through this program must demonstrate a pathway to wider market adoption.
- Funding amount: $3 billion ($600 million/year for Fiscal Years 2022-2026)
- For more information, visit: DOE Smart Grid Investment Program
- Support projects that use innovative approaches to transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure to enhance grid resilience and reliability.
- Projects selected under this program will include interregional transmission projects, investments that accelerate interconnection of clean energy generation, and utilization of distribution grid assets to provide backup power and reduce transmission requirements.
- Innovative approaches can range from use of advanced technologies to innovative partnerships to the deployment of projects identified by innovative planning processes.
- Funding amount: $5 billion for FY 2022 – 2026
- For more information, visit: DOE Grid Innovation Program
- Supports states and local communities in the siting and permitting of interstate and offshore electricity transmission lines.
- Funding amount: $760,000,000
- For more information, visit: DOE Funding to Facilitate Transmission Sitting Program
Schools and Universities
- Provide financial assistance to improve the resilience, safety, reliability, and availability of energy and environmental protection from adverse impacts of energy generation in rural or remote areas of the United States
- Funding amount: $1 billion ($200,000,000 appropriated annually from 2022 – 2026)
- For more information, visit: DOE Energy Improvement in Rural & Remote Areas Program
- Assists rural small businesses and agricultural producers by conducting and promoting energy audits and providing Renewable Energy Development Assistance.
- Funds may be used for energy audits, renewable energy technical assistance, and renewable energy site assessments.
- For more information, visit: USDA Rural Energy for America Program - Energy Audit & Renewable Energy Development Assistance Grants in Montana Program
- Grants to carry out demonstration projects for pilot energy storage systems.
- For more information, visit: DOE Energy Storage Demonstration and Pilot Grant Program
- With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s new Clean School Bus Program provides funding over the next five years (FY 2022-2026) to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models.
- Funding amount: $5 billion
- For more information, visit: EPA Clean School Bus Program
- Smart Grid Grants are designed to increase the flexibility, efficiency, and reliability of the electric power system, with particular focus on:
- Increasing capacity of the transmission system.
- Preventing faults that may lead to wildfires or other system disturbances.
- Integrating renewable energy at the transmission and distribution levels.
- Facilitating the integration of increasing electrified vehicles, buildings, and other grid-edge devices.
- Smart grid technologies funded and deployed at scale through this program must demonstrate a pathway to wider market adoption.
- Funding amount: $3 billion ($600 million/year for Fiscal Years 2022-2026)
- For more information, visit: DOE Smart Grid Investment Program
Utilities, Electric Cooperatives, Project Developers
Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Power Generation, and Storage
- Provide financial assistance to improve the resilience, safety, reliability, and availability of energy and environmental protection from adverse impacts of energy generation in rural or remote areas of the United States.
- Funding amount: $1 billion ($200,000,000 appropriated annually from 2022 – 2026)
- For more information, visit: DOE Energy Improvement in Rural & Remote Areas Program
- Loans to projects that retool, repower, repurpose, or replace energy infrastructure that has ceased operations, or enable operating energy infrastructure to avoid, reduce, utilize, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases.
- Appropriates funding through September 30, 2026, to carry out energy infrastructure reinvestment
- Funding amount: $5 billion with a total cap on loans of up to $250 billion
- For more information, visit: DOE Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Financing Program
- Funding for Rural Utility Services to offer loans, grants, loan modifications and other financial assistance to support the purchase of renewable energy systems, zero-emission systems, and carbon capture systems. Funding also may be used to deploy these systems or to make energy-efficiency improvements to generation and transmission systems of eligible entities.
- Funding amount: $9.7 billion
- For more information, visit: USDA Inflation Reduction Act Programs Page - In Development
- Additional funding for Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans and Grants in Montana program.
- Provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Agricultural producers may also apply for new energy efficient equipment and new system loans for agricultural production and processing.
- For more information, visit: USDA Rural Energy for America Program - Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & Grants
- Assists rural small businesses and agricultural producers by conducting and promoting energy audits and providing Renewable Energy Development Assistance.
- Funds may be used for energy audits, renewable energy technical assistance, and renewable energy site assessments.
- For more information, visit: USDA Rural Energy for America Program - Energy Audit & Renewable Energy Development Assistance Grants in Montana
- Grants to carry out demonstration projects for pilot energy storage systems.
- For more information, visit: DOE Energy Storage Demonstration and Pilot Grant Program
Transmission
- Revolving loan fund for transmission projects allowing the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to serve as an “anchor tenant” for a new transmission line or an upgrade of an existing line. DOE shared ownership provides certainty needed by developers to invest in larger, riskier projects.
- Funding amount: $2.5 billion
- For more information, visit: DOE Transmission Facilitation Program Page
- For more information, visit: DOE Transmission Facilitation Program - Grid Deployment Office
- Smart Grid Grants are designed to increase the flexibility, efficiency, and reliability of the electric power system, with particular focus on:
- Increasing capacity of the transmission system.
- Preventing faults that may lead to wildfires or other system disturbances.
- Integrating renewable energy at the transmission and distribution levels.
- Facilitating the integration of increasing electrified vehicles, buildings, and other grid-edge devices.
- Smart grid technologies funded and deployed at scale through this program must demonstrate a pathway to wider market adoption.
- Funding amount: $3 billion ($600 million/year for Fiscal Years 2022-2026)
- For more information, visit: DOE Smart Grid Investment Program
- Grants to support the modernization of the electric grid to reduce impacts due to extreme weather and natural disasters.
- Funds comprehensive transmission and distribution technology solutions to mitigate multiple hazards across a region or within a community, including wildfires, floods, hurricanes, extreme heat, extreme cold, storms, and any other event that can cause a disruption to the power system.
- The program will prioritize projects generating the greatest community benefit in reducing the likelihood and consequences of disruptive events.
- For more information, visit: DOE Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants
- Support projects that use innovative approaches to transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure to enhance grid resilience and reliability.
- Projects selected under this program will include interregional transmission projects, investments that accelerate interconnection of clean energy generation, and utilization of distribution grid assets to provide backup power and reduce transmission requirements.
- Innovative approaches can range from use of advanced technologies to innovative partnerships to the deployment of projects identified by innovative planning processes.
- Funding amount: $5 billion for FY 2022 – 2026
- For more information, visit: DOE Grid Innovation Program
- Provides rebates to industrial or manufacturing facility owners, commercial building owners, multifamily building owners, utilities, or energy service companies for the replacement of a qualified energy inefficient transformer with a qualified energy efficient transformer.
- Funding amount: $10 million
- For more information, visit: DOE Energy Efficient Transformer Rebates Program
- Provide financial assistance to improve the resilience, safety, reliability, and availability of energy and environmental protection from adverse impacts of energy generation in rural or remote areas of the United States
- Funding amount: $1 billion ($200,000,000 appropriated annually from 2022 – 2026)
- For more information, visit: DOE Energy Improvement in Rural & Remote Areas
- Funding for Rural Utility Services to offer loans, grants, loan modifications and other financial assistance to support the purchase of renewable energy systems, zero-emission systems, and carbon capture systems. Funding also may be used to deploy these systems or to make energy-efficiency improvements to generation and transmission systems of eligible entities.
- Funding amount: $9.7 billion
- For more information, visit: USDA Inflation Reduction Act Programs Page - In Development
- Direct loans for construction and modification of transmission lines or other transmission facilities.
- The loans are only available for projects in “National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors.” U.S. Department of Energy has not yet designated these corridors, which will have to meet criteria like promoting energy security, reducing electricity costs for customers, diversifying electricity supply, or meeting national energy policy interests.
- Link to be added when available
- Provide financial assistance to improve the resilience, safety, reliability, and availability of energy and environmental protection from adverse impacts of energy generation in rural or remote areas of the United States.
- Funding amount: $1 billion ($200,000,000 appropriated annually from 2022 – 2026)
- For more information, visit: DOE Energy Improvement in Rural & Remote Areas Program
- Provide grants and technical assistance to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, eligible entities to protect against, detect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity threats.
- Funding amount: $250 million
- For more information, visit: DOE Rural and Municipal Utility Advances Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program
Electric Vehicles, Charging, and Fueling Infrastructure
- Awaiting U. S. Department of Transportation guidance
- Competitive grant program to strategically deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure and other alternative fueling infrastructure along designated alternative fuel corridors. At least 50 percent of this funding must be used for a community grant program where priority is given to projects that expand access to EV charging and alternative fueling infrastructure within rural areas, low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, and communities with a low ratio of private parking spaces.
- For more information, visit: USDOT Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grants - In Development