The Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program is part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Under PACE, USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) will forgive up to 60 percent of loans for renewable energy projects that use wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, or biomass, as well as for renewable energy storage projects. At least 50 percent of the population served by your proposed renewable energy project must live in communities with populations of 20,000 or fewer.

This 6-week intensive program prepares startups for the partnerships and investment necessary to launch their venture. We are partnering with entrepreneurship hub TechTown Detroit to deliver this programming, which aims to help entrepreneurs bridge the gap between customer discovery and commercial launch. We’ve refined our process to help deep-tech companies over the last 27 years and bring this focused opportunity with support of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT).

The mHUB EnergyTech Startup Pitch Competition will showcase cutting-edge hardtech startups specializing in climate and energy technologies. This pitch competition, taking place virtually on June 27, 2023, is designed to support under-represented women founders and entrepreneurs of color. Startups focused on innovative climate tech and energy technologies can apply to pitch virtually to a group of esteemed judges for cash awards totaling $8,500 and connections to industry decision-makers and investors interested in hardtech.

• 1st Place Prize: $5,000
• 2nd Place Prize: $2,500
• 3rd Place Prize: $1,000

Scale Up NM helps to advance the strength of New Mexico’s communities, promotes equity through economic justice, enables high-quality home-grown innovation, and diversifies NM’s economy by expanding target industries. In partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, Scale Up NM supports the programming addressing barriers to commercialization for women, and in partnership with NM Startup Factory, supports investment education events. Target industry sectors (derived from NMEDD’s plan) include outdoor recreation, tourism, clean energy, arts, value-added agriculture, industrial trade and healthcare.

The LACI Incubation program offers hands-on incubation services for cleantech startups to grow in Los Angeles. The first four months of the 2-year program are dedicated to intensive curriculum workshops, one-on-one coaching sessions, and roundtables on go-to-market, investor readiness, and pilots. After the initial curriculum, the program is focused on achieving objectives outlined in a custom business roadmap of fundraising, product development, market access, team growth, pilot deployment, and partnerships.

Innovators is a core LACI accelerator program serving early-stage cleantech startups in Southern California. The one-year program is funded by the California Energy Commission’s Regional Energy Innovation Cluster (REIC) and aims to support early stage entrepreneurs launching their venture in California’s growing cleantech innovation ecosystem.

This 6-month program fast-tracks high potential startups through hands-on product development in state-of-the-art prototyping facility supported by world-class corporate and venture investors. Access startup funding and prototyping resources from the nation’s leading physical product development and hardtech innovation center. mHUB’s unmatched resources help exceptional energy, climate & clean tech startups turn their world-changing product ideas into commercialized, scalable product businesses.

This $4.75 million funding opportunity that will create one or more university-led Centers of Excellence to increase offshore wind expertise at U.S. universities; develop partnerships to address key offshore wind development challenges; and educate the next generation of offshore wind experts in the United States. The Centers of Excellence will catalyze innovative research, educational programming, and stakeholder engagement to address regional and technological challenges within the U.S. offshore wind sector. The Centers will establish strong cross-sector partnerships to identify and conduct critical, multi-disciplinary research that can address key offshore wind energy technology and deployment challenges.

The Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program helps rural Americans transition to clean, affordable, and reliable energy. By reducing air and water pollution, New ERA funding improves health outcomes and lower energy costs for people in rural communities. A Letter of Interest must be submitted by August 31. The New ERA program is available only to rural electric cooperatives, including:

• Existing or former USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS) borrowers
• Borrowers of the former Rural Electrification Administration
• Rural electric cooperatives that serve predominantly rural areas
• Wholly or jointly owned subsidiaries of rural electric cooperatives

Designed to recognize and address the distinct energy challenges faced by rural communities, this funding aims to increase energy affordability and promote climate resilience in areas with fewer than 10,000 people by supporting projects with a dollar amount of $500,000 to $5 million.

By participating in the competition, schools and students connect with wind energy experts and industry contacts, enhancing schools’ curriculum offerings and strengthening students’ professional networks. This competition invites interdisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students to:

• Design, build, and present a unique, wind-driven power system based on market research and test the wind turbine in an on-site wind tunnel.
• Research wind resource data, transmission infrastructure, and environmental factors to create a site plan and financial analysis for a hypothetical wind farm.
• Partner with wind industry professionals, raise awareness of wind energy in their communities, and work with local media to promote their team’s accomplishments.

Raise Green, the climate investment marketplace for clean energy and local impact projects, will now become part of Honeycomb Credit, the investment platform empowering local businesses, uniting two mission-driven platforms and creating a one-stop shop for impact investors seeking diverse opportunities that support both local economic growth and climate initiatives across the country. Together, Honeycomb and Raise Green aim to democratize impact investing by offering expanded opportunities to make meaningful investments. Whether interested in supporting a small local business or a clean energy initiative, investors can find an accessible and streamlined experience that aligns with their values.