Kansas Infrastructure Hub Submission Manager

Kansas Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund - Project Application

The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) has received notice of award from the Department of Energy (DOE) on KCC’s Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund (EERLF) application in response to Section 40502 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The award, totaling $6,706,230, will provide loans and grants for energy efficiency audits, upgrades, and retrofits to increase energy efficiency and improve the comfort of buildings. No matching funds are required.

The KCC will support this Program through the establishment of a new revolving loan fund program working with local federal and state-chartered banks, credit unions, and community development financial institutions certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury CDFI Fund. With the KCC participating in the loans, it will reduce the interest rate for eligible borrowers and reduce the risk for lenders.

Eligible lenders, borrowers, and awarded recipients of the subgrants will be required to report at least quarterly. Reports required by DOE and/or the KCC may include measurable improvements of energy efficiency or conservation, stakeholders engaged, value of contracts or agreements with minority owned businesses for supplies, services, or equipment, and accountability toward meeting project milestones.

Eligible lenders and borrowers will be required to report and comply with the provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act utilizing LCPTracker. This will require weekly submitting of payroll during the duration of the eligible project.

The KCC is seeking applications from eligible lenders for participation in the EERLF program, and applications from eligible entities for subawards for an Energy Audit subsidy that meet the criteria set out herein.

NOTE: This must be filled out by a participating lender or a borrower that has a participating lender.

Program Guidance

Eligible lenders include federal and state chartered banks and credit unions and community development financial institutions certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury CDFI Fund with offices located in Kansas.
KCC will participate in 50% of each eligible loan, which shall be paid to Program lenders on closing date. KCC's share of loan will be interest free or 0% which will result in the borrower receiving an interest rate of 50% of the Program lender's normal/customary yield on its capital.

Eligible Projects (for Loans):

Upgrades or retrofits recommended in a qualifying Energy Audit completed for: an agricultural building/facility, a building/facility owned and occupied by a nonprofit organization, a building/facility owned and occupied by a small business (500 employees or less; must conduct the majority of its business in Kansas), a publicly- or privately-owned school building/facility (K-12, college or university), or a publicly- or privately-owned building/facility occupied by state or local government
The project’s cost must be life-cycle cost-effective, which shall be demonstrated on the energy audit report showing that the estimated lifetime energy savings from the project upgrades/retrofits will be at least equal to the total project cost. Program Sponsor shall reserve the right to approve an alternative method of demonstrating cost-effectiveness if deemed acceptable.
The project must address at least one of the following: the energy efficiency of the building/facility; the physical comfort of the building/facility occupants; or the quality of the air in the building/facility.

NOTE: Based on the criteria above, geothermal heating systems are eligible, but solar/PV systems would need to be paired with energy storage or designed to provide operation during utility electricity grid outage to be eligible.

The project must lead to at least one of the following outcomes: reduce the energy intensity of the building/facility; or improve the control and management of energy usage of the building/facility to reduce demand during peak times.
Loans may include any portion of the cost of Energy Audit paid for by the Eligible Borrower (not subsidized by the KCC)

Additional Information

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Kansas Corporation Commission website

Submittable Information

You will need to create a free Submittable account or sign in with Google or Facebook credentials to submit to the application.
If you already have a Submittable account, login with those credentials.
You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the form at a later date.
If anything changes with the information you submitted, please request to edit the submission.
Submittable works best on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Internet Explorer is not supported. Please make sure you are using a supported browser.
We will follow-up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to safelist notification emails from Submittable and check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable Account regularly.

Technical Questions?

Check out the Submitter Resource Center or contact Submittable Customer Support.

Grant Assistance Program (GAP)

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Overview

The purpose of this Program is to provide funding to local agencies, including Tribal governments, for professional grant application writing services. This will potentially increase the number of grant applications from Kansas, help communities develop highly competitive applications, and increase the potential for federal grant awards in Kansas. Grant administration, which is the process of administering and managing the grant funding after award, is also eligible for funding under this program. Please refer to the full Program Guide for more information.

Submittable Information

You will need to create a free Submittable account or sign in with Google or Facebook credentials to submit to these forms.
You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the form at a later date.
If anything changes with the information you submitted, please request to edit the submission.
Submittable works best on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Internet Explorer is not supported. Please make sure you are using a supported browser.
We will follow-up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to safelist notification emails from Submittable and check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable Account regularly.

Questions about the application?

Please reach out to your Regional Point of Contact or email BIL@ks.gov.

Kansas Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund - Energy Audit Subsidy

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The KCC will support this Program through the establishment of a new revolving loan fund program working with local federal and state chartered banks, credit unions, and community development financial institutions certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury CDFI Fund. With the KCC participating in the loans, it will reduce the interest rate for eligible borrowers and reduce the risk for lenders.

Program Guidance

Eligible Entities for Energy Audit Subsidy:

An entity who owns or operates* one of the following: an agricultural building/facility; a building/facility occupied by a nonprofit organization; a building/facility occupied by a small business (500 employees or less; must conduct the majority of its business in Kansas); a publicly- or privately-owned school building/facility (K-12, college or university); or a publicly- or privately-owned building/facility occupied by state or local government
The program will focus on those facilities located in rural, disadvantaged or underserved communities whose need for capital to fund energy efficiency upgrades and retrofits is greatest, and with the availability of subgrant funding the projects would be economically harmful for its constituents and may therefore not be undertaken.
All subsidies for energy audits would be limited to no more than three buildings for each recipient.
The program will reimburse the building owner for 100% of the cost of qualified energy audits for nonprofit buildings. For energy audits of all other eligible buildings, the program will reimburse the building owners for two-thirds of the cost of a qualified energy audit and will reimburse the other one-third of the cost to be building owner upon once the owner has implemented at least one of the recommended measures in the energy audit report.

Energy Audit Requirements:

Determine the overall consumption of energy of the facility of the eligible recipient.
Identify and recommend lifecycle cost-effective opportunities to reduce the energy consumption of the facility of the eligible recipient.
Identify the period and level of peak energy demand for each building within the facility of the eligible recipient and the sources of energy consumption that are contributing the most to that period of peak energy demand.
Recommend controls and management systems to reduce or redistribute peak energy consumption.
Estimate the total energy and cost savings potential for the facility of the eligible recipient if all recommended upgrades and retrofits are implemented, using Audit Template, or such other audit software approved by DOE which complies with the BuildingSync data format.

Submittable Information

You will need to create a free Submittable account or sign in with Google or Facebook credentials to submit to the application.
If you already have a Submittable account, login with those credentials.
You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the form at a later date.
If anything changes with the information you submitted, please request to edit the submission.
Submittable works best on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Internet Explorer is not supported. Please make sure you are using a supported browser.
We will follow-up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to safelist notification emails from Submittable and check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable Account regularly.

Technical Questions?

Check out the Submitter Resource Center or contact Submittable Customer Support.

Kansas Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund - Lender Participation

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Program Guidance

Eligible lenders include federal and state chartered banks and credit unions and community development financial institutions certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury CDFI Fund with offices located in Kansas.
KCC will participate in 50% of each eligible loan, which shall be paid to Program lenders on closing date. KCC's share of loan will be interest free or 0% which will result in the borrower receiving an interest rate of 50% of the Program lender's normal/customary yield on its capital.

Eligible Projects (for Loans):

· Upgrades or retrofits recommended in a qualifying Energy Audit completed for: an agricultural building/facility, a building/facility owned and occupied by a nonprofit organization, a building/facility owned and occupied by a small business (500 employees or less; must conduct the majority of its business in Kansas), a publicly- or privately-owned school building/facility (K-12, college or university), or a publicly- or privately-owned building/facility occupied by state or local government
The project’s cost must be life-cycle cost-effective, which shall be demonstrated on the energy audit report showing that the estimated lifetime energy savings from the project upgrades/retrofits will be at least equal to the total project cost. Program Sponsor shall reserve the right to approve an alternative method of demonstrating cost-effectiveness if deemed acceptable.
The project must address at least one of the following: the energy efficiency of the building/facility; the physical comfort of the building/facility occupants; or the quality of the air in the building/facility.
NOTE: Based on the criteria above, geothermal heating systems are eligible, but solar/PV systems would need to be paired with energy storage or designed to provide operation during utility electricity grid outage to be eligible.
The project must lead to at least one of the following outcomes: reduce the energy intensity of the building/facility; or improve the control and management of energy usage of the building/facility to reduce demand during peak times.
Loans may include any portion of the cost of Energy Audit paid for by the Eligible Borrower (not subsidized by the KCC)

Submittable Information

You will need to create a free Submittable account or sign in with Google or Facebook credentials to submit to the application.
If you already have a Submittable account, login with those credentials.
You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the form at a later date.
If anything changes with the information you submitted, please request to edit the submission.
Submittable works best on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Internet Explorer is not supported. Please make sure you are using a supported browser.
We will follow-up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to safelist notification emails from Submittable and check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable Account regularly.

Technical Questions?

Check out the Submitter Resource Center or contact Submittable Customer Support.

Build Kansas Fund Application

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Summary of the Build Kansas Fund

The Build Kansas Matching Grant Fund (Build Kansas Fund) can provide matching dollars to eligible entities applying for an infrastructure-related grant program for projects in Kansas. The intent of the Build Kansas Fund is to accelerate local infrastructure investment to support transformative community projects in areas of demonstrated geographic need. Targeted areas for investment include water, transportation, energy, cybersecurity, broadband and other priorities identified in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The Build Kansas Fund can provide up to $200M in matching funds over the life of the fund, Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-2027. Applications for local match funding assistance will be accepted on a rolling basis until all funds have been committed or the Build Kansas Fund expires.

Requirements

The Build Kansas Fund must be used for grants with a federal match requirement under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

Entities are encouraged to apply for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) discretionary funds to maximize the impact of federal infrastructure dollars Kansas receives.

Eligibility

There are four eligibility requirements for the Build Kansas Fund:

Eligible for and applying to a viable BIL funding opportunity.
Have a required non-federal match component.
The primary project zip code must be located in Kansas.
Submit your Build Kansas Fund application before the federal BIL application due date. Applications submitted after the federal grant application due date will not be accepted.

Build Kansas Fund Cost Share Expectation

Beginning in July 2024 and moving forward, the following guidance is to be used by eligible applicants to meet the expectation of providing a local share or contribution to the non-Federal match requirement, in addition to the Build Kansas Fund contribution to the non-Federal match requirement.

The portion of the non-Federal match requirement provided by the eligible applicants (the applicant cost share) should be cash and/or in-kind contributions.

Cash and/or in-kind contributions should be significant enough relative to the Build Kansas Fund request to demonstrate the eligible applicant’s commitment to the project. For a local public entity, 5% of the non-federal match is a good guideline, but not a requirement.

Exclusions: Eligible applicants may provide detailed written justification and be granted an exception to or exclusion from the Build Kansas Fund cost share expectations. If an eligible applicant cannot meet this cost share expectation or has other reasons why they should be excluded from this expectation, they may justify that in their Build Kansas Fund application. Eligible applicants that team together on an application or demonstrate regionality may also be considered for exclusion on a case-by-case basis.

Cap: All Build Kansas Fund requests for any eligible applicants are capped at a maximum request of $20 million per specific project and Build Kansas Fund application.

Definitions:

Non-Federal Match: the portion of funding that is required from non-federal sources to complement or match federal funds in certain programs or projects. It is typically a specified percentage or dollar amount that recipients of federal grants or funds must contribute from their own resources or through third-party sources in the form of cash or in-kind contributions.
Applicant Cost Share: The amount or percentage of the non-federal match that the Build Kansas Fund applicant is to provide in the form of cash or in-kind contributions.
In-Kind Contributions: In-kind contributions are defined as the value of non-cash contributions (i.e., property, materials, or services) that benefit the project or program. They must meet Federal definitions and be allowed as match for the specific grant program. Examples of in-kind contributions can include:

Goods: Donated materials or supplies that are necessary for the project.
Services: Volunteer hours or donated professional services (e.g., administrative time, professional services, skilled services, etc.) that would otherwise have a monetary value.
Equipment: Use of equipment without charge that is essential for the project's success.

Review

Build Kansas Fund applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Once reviewed, your entity will be notified if approved for Build Kansas Funds.

After your federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) application has been awarded, applicants are required to upload the notice of award in Submittable. The notice of award begins the process of distributing Build Kansas Funds.

PLEASE NOTE: Your federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) application must be approved by the funding agency in order to receive Build Kansas Funds.

Additional Information and FAQs

Additional information can be found on the Hub's website.

Application Overview

This application has seven (7) parts:

Application Information (e.g., applying entity name, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) program applying for)
Eligibility Criteria (e.g., project location)
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) - Grant Application Information
Build Kansas Fund - Match Application Information
Means Test and Eligible Applicant Match (e.g., justification of need, demonstrated past performance, public benefit)
Additional Information (e.g., upload draft BIL application or executive summary)
Terms and Conditions

Submittable Information

You will need to create a free Submittable account or sign in with Google or Facebook credentials to submit to these forms.
You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the form at a later date.
If anything changes with the information you submitted, please request to edit the submission.
Submittable works best on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Internet Explorer is not supported. Please make sure you are using a supported browser.
We will follow-up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to safelist notification emails from Submittable and check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable Account regularly.

Questions about the application or Build Kansas Fund?

Please reach out to your Regional Points of Contact.

Technical Questions?

Check out the Submitter Resource Center or contact Submittable Customer Support.