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The California Energy Commission has released its latest solicitation of the Food Production Investment Program (FPIP). The goals of the program are to accelerate the adoption of advanced energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies at California food processing plants, demonstrate their reliability and effectiveness and help California food processors work towards a low-carbon future.

Who is eligible to apply for the FPIP?
To be eligible for funding, applicants are limited to food processing facilities located in California and must meet all of the following requirements:
1. The applicant must own or operate one or more food processing facility that is the site for the proposed project.
2. The applicant must be a food processing facility as defined by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes 311 (Food Manufacturing) or 3121 (Beverage Manufacturing).
3. The proposed project must reduce GHG emissions through energy efficiency, use of renewable energy, or other activities, as defined in the grant solicitation.

How much funding is available and is there a match requirement?
A two-tiered system will be used to categorize awards. Up to $6 million is available for Tier I projects (35% match requirement) and up to $8 million is available for Tier II projects (15% match requirement).

What is the application deadline?
The deadline to submit applications for Round 1 is November 20, 2019.

What projects are eligible and what will the grant fund?

Tier I Projects
The focus of Tier I is the installation of commercially available energy efficient equipment that are drop-in replacements or additions to current systems and that can result in greater GHG emission reductions and higher efficiency than current best practices or industry standard equipment. Projects must be upgrades / replacements of existing equipment, or additions to existing equipment, that will result in GHG emission reduction projects. Under Tier I, eligible costs for grant funding are limited to the cost of equipment that will result in reductions of GHG emissions and the cost of any measurement and verification (M&V) required for validation of GHG emissions reduction.

Eligible technologies for Tier I projects include: compressor controls and system optimization; machine drive controls and upgrades; mechanical dewatering; advanced motors and controls including variable frequency drives; refrigeration optimization; drying equipment; process equipment insulation; boilers, economizers; steam traps, condensate return, heat recovery; evaporators; alternatives to natural gas; internal metering and software to manage and control electricity and natural gas use if part of a larger project that reduces energy usage; other types of controls, such as compressed air, automatic blow down for boilers and system optimization.

Tier II Projects
The focus of Tier II is to fund and demonstrate cutting edge technologies that are emerging and not widely used in California but have been proven elsewhere to reduce GHG emissions. These projects are not drop-in ready replacements for existing equipment. Eligible costs include equipment, required M&V, and engineering / design.

Eligible technologies for Tier II projects include: solar thermal; renewable energy generation, such as biogas production; microgrids; fuel switching. The grant will fund other technologies not specifically listed above that meet all of the following criteria: 1) cutting-edge and emerging technology; 2) technology is not widely used in California; 3) not drop-in ready equipment replacement or addition; and 4) proven elsewhere to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

What is the grant duration?
The anticipated project start date is March 23, 2020 and all awarded funds must be spent by the grant recipient no later than March 31, 2024.

To read the current FPIP solicitation click here.

Morrison has experienced success with this program and currently has capacity for additional clients for this 2019 solicitation. For more information on this grant or how to apply with Morrison’s assistance, please contact the Morrison Grants Team by email at grants@morrisonco.net or by phone at 530-893-4764.