Ann Arbor Times

The City of Ann Arbor was awarded $182,360 from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of State and Community Energy Programs through their Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program to renovate the Bryant Community Center into a net-zero facility and living learning laboratory of climate action. These grant funds will help support the installation of energy efficiency technologies such as insulation and window replacements, the installation of all-electric appliances including an induction stove, the installation of a geothermal system at the center, and the expansion of the center's energy storage system. In addition, funding will support educational materials, designs, and curriculum so that the public can interact with the various technologies and solutions implemented at the Center and learn more about actions they can take to usher in a decarbonized future.

Ann Arbor is the first city in Michigan, and the second in the Midwest, to receive their formula EECBG grant. In total, 2,708 state, local and tribal governments are eligible for a formula award from the EECBG program. $550,000,000 was allocated to the EECBG program from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to help states, territories, local governments and tribes across the country:

• Improve energy efficiency.

• Cut fossil fuel emissions.

• Reduce energy use.

“Ann Arbor has made a deep and sustained commitment to a just transition to community-wide carbon neutrality, and this award from the U.S. Department of Energy is one more critical piece in making this vision a reality," said Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor. “I look forward to working with our residents, educational institutions, community partners, and others to ensure the Bryant Community Center is the pinnacle of what just climate action looks like in practice."“Community Action Network is deeply committed to ensuring the health, safety, and prosperity of the community we serve and with the announcement of today's project, we get to take yet another tangible step forward in our community to centering equity and justice in our path towards zero climate pollution," said Derrick Miller, executive director of Community Action Network.The EECBG Program has 14 categories of eligible uses of funds that cover a variety of projects and programs aimed at improving energy efficiency, cutting fossil fuel emissions, and reducing energy use. The grants awarded will provide significant benefits to the communities they serve.

“The City of Ann Arbor is ecstatic about supporting our first carbon neutral building and making that building a living, learning laboratory of climate action," said Dr. Missy Stults, City of Ann Arbor Sustainability and Innovations director. “This project will help demystify the technologies, practices, and approaches needed to achieve our goal of community-wide carbon neutrality by the year 2030.

"More information about the most recent round of EECBG awards can be found at: https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-more-31-million-clean-energy-funding-19-states-and.This project is part of the city's A2ZERO program — an initiative to achieve a just transition to community-wide carbon neutrality by the year 2030. Recent successes in ensuring an equitable and sustainable future include work toward creating the nation's first fully carbon neutral existing neighborhood; the installation of Michigan's first utility-pole EV chargers; significant recent investments in resilience hubs and resilience infrastructure; the deployment of nearly 8MW of rooftop solar throughout the city; and the launch of Michigan's first commercial, multifamily and single-family energy disclosure ordinances. 

To learn more about A2ZERO and get involved, see www.a2gov.org/sustainability.  

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