Wyoming Energy Authority announces 2021 grant opportunities

By: 
Barbara Anne Greene

The Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA) released the 2021 grant opportunities for the state energy program. Kaeci Daniels of WEA said that some applications are open now and other applications will open in April.

Open now is the Agriculture and Rural Small Business Energy Audit grant. It is available to agricultural producers statewide and to small businesses in rural areas looking for assistance to identify cost-effective opportunities to lower their energy usage. The maximum grant amount for the audit is $3,000 and requires a 25% cash match.

The remaining grants will open April 18 and close May 28. One is the K-12 Schools-lighting only grant. This is open to any public school in Wyoming that is looking to retrofit current lighting systems to more energy efficient systems. The maximum grant amount is $25,000 and does not require a cash match.

Local Government Retrofit grants are available to local governments who want to complete approved energy efficiency retrofits. This could be for fire departments, fairgrounds, parks, city halls, courthouses, etc. The maximum grant for this program is $25,000 with a 10% cash match.

Both the school and local government grants require a WYLite Energy Audit. According to Daniels, “This program offers free energy audits to organizations interested in the K-12 and Local Government grant programs. It is a requirement that interested grantees first complete this program. Once applicants have signed up online for the WYLite Energy Audit, they will be contacted by Wyoming Energy Authority's consultant.”

The Small Business Energy Audit and Retrofit grant is available to small businesses looking for cost effective ways to lower their energy usage. The grant may be used to complete an energy audit and/or approved retrofits.

The maximum grant amount is $5,000 and requires a 25% cash match. It requires a Level 2 energy audit by a certified auditor.

For more information on grant programs, please contact Kaeci Daniels at kaeci.daniels2@wyo.gov or 307-777-1948.