The Minnesota Department of Commerce (“Department”) seeks proposals from local units of government (counties, cities, townships, and MET Council) for qualified geothermal planning projects throughout Minnesota for the Geothermal Planning Grant program. This grant, with an allocated total of $1.08 million, was created by the State Legislature and designed to examine the technical and economic feasibility of installing geothermal energy systems and to provide a process for local units of government to apply to the Geothermal Planning Grant Program.
Who can apply? Local units of government (counties, cities, townships, and MET Council) throughout Minnesota.
What is being funded under this section?
- Analysis of the heating and cooling demand of the building or buildings that consume energy from the geothermal energy system;
- Evaluation of equipment that could be combined with a geothermal energy system to meet the building's heating and cooling requirements;
- Analysis of the geologic conditions of the earth in which a geothermal energy system operates, including the drilling of one or more test wells to characterize geologic materials and to measure properties of the earth and aquifers that impact the feasibility of installing and operating a geothermal energy system; and
- Preparation of a financial analysis of the project.
Technical assistance funded by this grant may be sub-awarded by the grant recipient to a contractor.
When and where can I apply? From Monday, December 16, 2024, until Monday, March 10, 2025, applications to the Geothermal Planning Grant Program will be accepted for eligible applicants throughout Minnesota. The RFP will be posted publicly online on the Department’s RFP page (found at https://mn.gov/commerce/business/rfp.jsp)