State Energy Office Support
The IRA and IIJA offer every state energy office millions of dollars and a historic opportunity to supercharge local clean energy economies.
BPA can help you:
Maximize federal funding opportunities
Expand your state’s energy-efficiency workforce
Save your residents energy and money
While there are more than 2.1 million energy efficiency workers in the country–more than any other energy sector–there is still a tremendous shortage of trained energy efficiency workers. And that employment gap is about to grow: Homeowners will soon have access to nearly $9 billion in federally funded rebates and tax credits for home energy upgrades. Plus, there’s another $3.5 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program soon to become available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Every state needs many more workers to fully take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity.
As the leading voice for U.S. energy efficiency workers, the Building Performance Association (BPA) has the expertise and experience to help state governments secure funding and scale up their energy efficiency workforces.
Through its state-level partnerships, BPA identifies workforce gaps and barriers, brings clean energy jobs to underserved populations, and empowers communities to expand their energy efficiency workforce by providing valuable insights, tools, and training options.
BPA is already working with several states to conduct workforce needs assessments and develop plans to use Department of Energy funding to train and scale up the workforce each state needs.
BPA State Support Services Include:
For more information about each of these services, please download our “Maximize State and Federal Funds” flyer.
2024 State Energy Office Webinar Series
Thanks to support from Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) and the U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Office (DOE BTO), BPA has planned a State Energy Office Webinar series, consisting of 4 webinars between July and December 2024. The goal of these webinars is to provide insights on how State Energy Offices can effectively design and implement inclusive, sustainable state-wide energy workforce development programs.
These webinars are exclusive to State Energy Offices. Review recaps of past webinars below.
- July 17th: Creating a Culture Shift: Workforce Inclusion Practices
- August 21st: Workforce Development through Registered Apprenticeships
- October 23rd: Navigating the Department of Labor & Workforce Boards
- December 11th (Upcoming): Best Practices for Building and Sustaining the Energy Efficiency Workforce
Download Our Latest Fact Sheet
Home Energy Rebates in the Inflation Reduction Act
Updated in December 2023, this fact sheet provides a broad overview of these programs and outlines how funds will flow from the Department of Energy (DOE) to State Energy Offices (SEOs), ultimately benefiting consumers and contractors.
See How it Works
Home Efficiency Rebates Program: Sample Application Responses and Guidance
Developed by the Department of Energy (DOE), this document provides example responses and additional guidance to assist a state/territory in applying for and implementing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Home Rebate Program(s) in accordance with the requirements of the Administrative and Legal Requirements Document and the Program Requirements & Application Instructions.
Energy Auditor Training Grant Program
The Energy Auditor Training Grant Program offers $40 million in competitive funding to states to train individuals in energy auditing for residential and commercial buildings. The goal is to build a skilled clean energy workforce, lower energy bills, and reduce building-related pollution. In the short term, it focuses on training, diversity, and job connections, while in the long term, it seeks to sustain clean energy auditing through partnerships.
Our State Team
Our state team has extensive experience in energy workforce assessments, training, credentialing, education, and implementing apprenticeships.
The team has completed Needs Assessment Reports in West Virginia, Maine, Kentucky, and Delaware, and is currently working with other states in addition. These detailed reports draw on surveys from BPA’s DOE-funded national needs assessments to determine critical industry challenges. The reports take utilize this data to suggest strategies for improvement, development, and resource allocation.