November 3, 2024: Bayfield County and Red Cliff receive US Department of Energy official notification of project award and start date. Bayfield County, including the Red Cliff Band of Chippewa Indians, 17 communities within Bayfield County, and three private businesses will now begin their $12.2M project to install 27 microgrids and Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure throughout Bayfield County. A fact sheet about the project can be found here. Phase 1 of the project is preliminary design and runs from November 3 to mid-May 2025. The Project Management Plan outlines the tasks to be completed in this time period and can be seen here. The State of Wisconsin's Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy is the primary applicant and is supported by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), Cheq Bay Renewables, muGrid Analytics, and Slipstream.
March 7, 2024: On March 6th, 2024, Bayfield County hosted a meeting for the Towns of Bayfield County to update them on the U.S. DOE OCED selection process. Mark Abeles-Allison welcomed the attendees and Maria Redmond from WI OSCE followed with opening remarks. Amy Simpkins, program manager from muGrid Analytics, discussed project phases, timeline, and next steps. Bill Bailey (CBR) presented project scope for the 16 Town microgrids. The slide deck can be viewed here.
February 27, 2024: SELECTED FOR AWARD! That means contract negotiations will begin between the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstration (OCED) and the State of Wisconsin's Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy (OSCE). Anticipated to take 2-3 months, we hope to begin the projects implementation in June or July of 2024. Here are some things that happened on February 27th:
On April 14, 2023, Wisconsin's Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy submitted a Concept Paper to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a grant to enhance energy resilience throughout Bayfield County and the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. They idea was a unique collaboration between multiple State agencies, technical experts and our local community. The Department of Energy's objectives are to make Rual American more energy resilience while building a strong workforce of high-quality jobs, engage directly with the communities involved, and make sure at least 40% of the project's benefits go to communities that are disadvantaged in one way or another. The Concept Paper received a "favorable" response from the DOE meaning the first hurdle was passed and the project team was encouraged to submit a full application, due August 2, 2023. 370 Concept Papers were submitted and only 78 were encouraged to move forward with the full application. The DOE anticipates funding around 28 projects giving us optimism of being awarded. Keep your fingers crossed,
This page is a resource page to keep the community informed as to the status of this grant opportunity and serve as a place where we can collect relevant information.
A good place to start to learn more about the project is to watch this recorded presentation to the Towns of Bayfield County. The slide deck from that presentation can also be viewed here.
A draft budget of the overall project can be found here and a draft budget breakdown, cashflow, and site maps of the specific microgrids can be found here. These draft budgets will be updated as the project progresses.
The total project involves 24 separate projects, 23 of which are resilient microgrids capable of sustaining power to essential community buildings during a power outage. Level-2 Electric Vehicle charging is also integrated into many of the microgrids. The 24th project is a compressed natural gas fueling station and associated building modifications for Bayfield County's large plow trucks to reduce emissions from diesel fuel while saving taxpayer dollars. While the County is actively engaged in the electric vehicle transition, technology does not yet exist to electrify large plow trucks.
The full application's Technical Volume can be found here and Community Benefits Plan here. Check back often as we update this page.
March 7, 2024: On March 6th, 2024, Bayfield County hosted a meeting for the Towns of Bayfield County to update them on the U.S. DOE OCED selection process. Mark Abeles-Allison welcomed the attendees and Maria Redmond from WI OSCE followed with opening remarks. Amy Simpkins, program manager from muGrid Analytics, discussed project phases, timeline, and next steps. Bill Bailey (CBR) presented project scope for the 16 Town microgrids. The slide deck can be viewed here.
February 27, 2024: SELECTED FOR AWARD! That means contract negotiations will begin between the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstration (OCED) and the State of Wisconsin's Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy (OSCE). Anticipated to take 2-3 months, we hope to begin the projects implementation in June or July of 2024. Here are some things that happened on February 27th:
- OSCE press release: OCED Selects 17 Projects to Lower Energy Costs and Enhance Energy Security Across Rural and Remote Communities (govdelivery.com
- Office of the Governors' press release: Press Release: Gov. Evers Announces Wisconsin has been Selected by U.S. Department of Energy for Rural Clean Energy Demonstrations (govdelivery.com)
On April 14, 2023, Wisconsin's Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy submitted a Concept Paper to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a grant to enhance energy resilience throughout Bayfield County and the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. They idea was a unique collaboration between multiple State agencies, technical experts and our local community. The Department of Energy's objectives are to make Rual American more energy resilience while building a strong workforce of high-quality jobs, engage directly with the communities involved, and make sure at least 40% of the project's benefits go to communities that are disadvantaged in one way or another. The Concept Paper received a "favorable" response from the DOE meaning the first hurdle was passed and the project team was encouraged to submit a full application, due August 2, 2023. 370 Concept Papers were submitted and only 78 were encouraged to move forward with the full application. The DOE anticipates funding around 28 projects giving us optimism of being awarded. Keep your fingers crossed,
This page is a resource page to keep the community informed as to the status of this grant opportunity and serve as a place where we can collect relevant information.
A good place to start to learn more about the project is to watch this recorded presentation to the Towns of Bayfield County. The slide deck from that presentation can also be viewed here.
A draft budget of the overall project can be found here and a draft budget breakdown, cashflow, and site maps of the specific microgrids can be found here. These draft budgets will be updated as the project progresses.
The total project involves 24 separate projects, 23 of which are resilient microgrids capable of sustaining power to essential community buildings during a power outage. Level-2 Electric Vehicle charging is also integrated into many of the microgrids. The 24th project is a compressed natural gas fueling station and associated building modifications for Bayfield County's large plow trucks to reduce emissions from diesel fuel while saving taxpayer dollars. While the County is actively engaged in the electric vehicle transition, technology does not yet exist to electrify large plow trucks.
The full application's Technical Volume can be found here and Community Benefits Plan here. Check back often as we update this page.