Energy Efficiency Investment Fund (EIFF) - Custom Pathway Grants

Funder: Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC)

The Energy Efficiency Investment Fund (EEIF) offers Custom Pathway Grants to non-residential facilities in Delaware, promoting energy-efficient upgrades. These grants encourage complex energy improvements beyond standard measures, supporting both retrofit and new construction projects. Eligible projects can receive up to 60% funding, with a maximum award of $250,000 per year. The program aims to enhance energy efficiency, reduce operational costs, and support diverse community sectors, including minority and veteran-owned businesses.

Note: Pre-approval is highly encouraged for all projects to ensure an applicant’s proposed project is eligible for grant funds and to reserve eligible funds. Applicants not gaining EEIF pre-approval before materials are ordered, installed, or services performed assume full risk of project ineligibility and/or exhausted funds.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) administers Energy Efficiency Investment Fund (EEIF) rebates to support non-residential facilities in replacing aging and inefficient equipment and systems with energy efficient alternatives.
Improving the energy efficiency of a business helps to decrease operating costs, reduce energy consumption, and improve environmental performance.
Energy Efficiency Investment Fund rebates are available to perform energy assessments, to make general energy improvements, and to implement custom, site-specific improvements for either new or existing buildings.
The custom pathway grant option is designed to encourage non-standard energy efficiency measures, including measures not listed in the prescriptive pathway and prescribed measures bundled into a comprehensive full facility upgrade that maximizes energy savings and cost-effectiveness. Projects qualifying under the custom pathway are generally more complex incorporating aggressive measures that permanently raise the efficiency levels beyond that of standard equipment. New construction project’s energy savings will be determined as the difference between the proposed/installed ECM/system and the current locally adopted energy code baseline parameters.
Retro-commissioning (RCx) measures may be eligible for the custom pathway with restrictions as discussed in additional detail below. RCx measures include the optimization and fine-tuning of existing buildings and systems in order to make them operate optimally and more efficiently, typically through scheduling, sequencing, set point optimization, and controls programming strategies, focusing on the systems in place instead of replacing the existing systems through a retrofit.
“AC Tune-Up” measures (e.g. refrigerant charge adjustment, coil cleaning, airflow adjustment, etc.) for residential style AC units exceeding 65 kBTUh capacity per unit may be eligible for the custom pathway. These measures must be split into their respective activities performed and not bundled together – e.g. specific calculations for a refrigerant charge adjustment, calculations for an economizer repair, etc.
Lighting upgrades are often the easiest way to save energy and improve production processes in cultivation facilities. This incentive is designed to replace high-wattage fixtures with long run hours (16+ hours per day) in year-round residential growing operations. Commercial Horticultural Lighting projects consist of installing energy-efficient LED fixtures for grow houses, greenhouses, and propagation lighting. Rebates for retrofit and new construction horticultural grow lighting projects are available to indoor cultivation businesses that use artificial light to grow plants of all types such as:

• Cannabis, Microgreens, Vegetables, Flowers, and Propagation.

Horticultural grow lighting projects are eligible to pursue the single-tier custom grant pathway. For Horticultural projects, the applicant must provide detailed estimated annual energy savings calculations in accordance with pre-approval requirements. LED horticultural fixtures must be listed in either ENERGY STAR or Design Lights Consortium horticultural qualified products list. If you are unsure if your project qualifies as horticultural lighting, contact DNREC to confirm.
Custom Grant Limits
The Fund will not pay more than 60% of the energy efficiency-related project cost for any proposed project as detailed on itemized invoices (see exception for Energy Assessment Pathway in section 5.3). Program funds are limited. Grant awards will not exceed $250,000 per individual address per calendar year. DNREC reserves sole discretion to adjust the program grant caps. Particular consideration will be placed on organizations that support DNREC’s commitment to helping vital, yet vulnerable sectors of the community, including:
minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses; small businesses (defined by the Delaware Dept. of Small Business as 100 employees or less); nonprofit organizations; educational institutions; state agencies; and local governments.
To ensure availability, funding must be reserved prior to purchasing any equipment or beginning an audit or energy study.
Custom grants are based on calculated energy and demand savings of retrofit projects, as well as cost-effectiveness and project comprehensiveness.
The custom incentive structure consists of three tiers which are determined by the comprehensiveness or number of end-uses involved in a project. Projects including only one (1) end use are eligible for the Single Tier incentive level (except lighting and RCx). To qualify for the Multi-Tier, a project must include a building energy management system (EMS) or contain at least two (2) end uses (see Section 5.2.2). A project including three or more (3+) end uses is eligible for the highest incentive level known as the Comprehensive Tier. End uses may be gas and/or electric.
Projects that solely deliver savings from retrofit lighting are not eligible for the custom grant pathway (except horticultural lighting projects). A control system that only controls lighting is not an EMS. A control device/system that just establishes the space temperature and a setback temperature is not an EMS. To qualify as an end use for the Multi-Tier, 80% of the lighting must be dimmable as defined by the Design Lights Consortium (DLC). To qualify as an end use for the Comprehensive Tier, lighting must include fixture-integrated or networked lighting controls.
Projects that solely deliver savings from an RCx offering(s) are not eligible for the custom pathway. Preventative maintenance or system “tune-ups” are not RCx measures. To qualify for the custom pathway, the RCx measure must have been identified in an energy assessment/audit performed by a qualified professional. Additionally, RCx offerings are not eligible to “increase” the incentive tiers based on the number of end-uses, for example, a custom project with a space heating end use measure and RCx measure implementation would qualify for the “Single Tier” incentive rate and would require an additional end-use measure to qualify for the “Multi-Tier” incentive rate, or (2) more end uses for the Comprehensive Tier incentive rate.
The grant for a custom application will be paid at the following rates for each tier, up to 60% of energy efficiency-related costs, whichever is less. Multi-tier and Comprehensive tier ECMs must all be complete and final approved to be paid at the tier-level rate.
Electric IncentiveSingle Tier$0.20 / kWhMulti-Tier$0.25 / kWhComprehensive Tier$0.30 / kWhGas IncentiveSingle Tier$10 / MMBtu
Multi-Tier$20 / MMBtu
Comprehensive Tier$27 / MMBtuFuel Switch Bonus: If measure is replacing a fossil fuel-fired appliance with an electric alternative, add value to gas incentive rate if applicable.Single Tier+$2 / MMBTU
Comprehensive Tier+$8 / MMBTU
Typically, the savings generated by these custom measures are site and end-use specific and require a detailed analysis to qualify for a grant. Recognizing this, DNREC reserves the right to require a detailed system design and a predicted performance calculation verified by a professional engineer (P.E.).
All custom applications require documentation of the energy savings information. Acceptable forms of documentation include energy modeling by a consultant or other third party, nameplate data on all existing systems, specification sheets for ALL proposed systems, signature by a licensed professional engineer (P.E.), and/or DNREC-approved calculator tools. Failure to submit acceptable documentation will result in a determination of ineligibility. For example, ASHRAE 90.1 2016 Appendix G simulation may be used to demonstrate beyond-code energy performance, and ASHRAE’s energy cost budget method may be used to demonstrate energy cost avoidances.
Custom Funds Reservations
Project funds will be reserved for 12 months on a first-come, first-served basis. The applicant may request a one-time extension for 60 days. Final itemized invoices, proof of payment, and supporting documents shall be submitted within the 12 months of the reservation date or funds will be forfeited. DNREC will determine if a reservation extension should be granted.

Eligibility

Eligible Projects
Program participants must be non-residential facilities located in the State of Delaware. Projects that merely bring a building up to minimum energy code requirements will not be accepted.EligibilityThe EEIF Program is available to all non-residential, commercial, industrial, local government, governmental, and non-profit entities in the State of Delaware that pay the PUT.PUT payment will be verified by DNREC via customer utility bill(s) provided during application. Both retrofit and new construction projects are eligible for EEIF grants through all pathways.

Ineligibility

The following are not eligible for the custom pathway grant:

• Routine maintenance procedures
• Renewable energy generation (e.g., wind, geothermal, solar, etc.)
• Industrial technologies not approved by nationally recognized laboratories
• Power conditioning/power factor equipment
• Equipment studies
• Projects that bring the building up to minimum code requirements
• Other restrictions as deemed appropriate by DNREC