The Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority board (CHEDA) held a special meeting on Tuesday at Valley Technology Park.
The agenda consisted of one item regarding the request for approval to apply for grant funding through the US Department of Energy’s program called ‘Solve-It Prize.’ The board ultimately approved the request to apply for this grant. This very competitive grant is open to all entities working collaboratively with communities to develop and carry out projects that benefit communities and reflect their priorities. Entities encouraged to apply include consortia, academic institutions, labor unions, nongovernmental organizations, and nonfederal government entities such as tribes, states, counties, and municipalities.
4H2, out of Crookston, is developing a Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell (DEFC) technology in collaboration with university research partners. DEFC, in general terms, is a non-combustion approach to generating electricity from ethanol fuel. “Empower Crookston will actually be the entity that will apply for this grant,” said EDA Director Karie Kirschbaum. “Crookston will be housing the money here for an admin fee. We’re excited about seeing a new business being developed; Valley Tech Park is an incubator where we help incubate and start new companies. So this will be a project that we will work on to incubate a new business alongside 4H2.”
The Solve-It Prize grant program consists of three phases, creating three opportunities for entities to receive grant funding. Phase one is the Embark phase, in which 25 applicants will receive $80,000. Embark competitors will identify their community and the critical energy-related challenges impacting their community and articulate a clear plan to engage the stakeholders needed to find a lasting solution that works for the community.
Phase two is the Engage phase, in which 10 applicants will be rewarded up to $150,000. “If we make it past the first phase, we can begin to engage and demonstrate the project,” said Kirschbaum. “Only 10 people will be awarded this.”
Phase three sees even more competition, titled the Established phase, where only three applicants will be awarded up to $500,000. In phase three, applicants must demonstrate their successful efforts to implement their clean energy or de-carbonization project efforts.
The application deadline for phase one (Embark) will be due to the US Department of Energy by Friday, April 12. The application deadlines for phases two and three will be determined after applicants are awarded in phase one.
