This agreement provides funding under the inflation reduction act (IRA) to southwestern michigan commission

This $20,000,000 Project Grant was awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program (CFDA 66.616) to the Southwestern Michigan Commission. The funding will support a multifaceted initiative in Benton Harbor, Michigan to transform the Bobo Brazil Community Center and Garden House into resilience hubs, develop a pilot microgrid system, provide home energy efficiency upgrades, offer workforce training in green construction and clean energy careers, and establish a mobile recycling program. Key project activities include upgrading the community facilities with energy efficiency measures and alternative energy sources, deploying a cluster of 92 solar installations with demand-response technologies, delivering grants for home energy audits and improvements, and launching an educational campaign to reduce waste and illegal dumping. The project aims to enhance community resilience, reduce pollution, and strengthen the local green economy.

Specifically, the project will: transform the bobo brazil community center and garden house into resilience hubs with energy efficiency upgrades, alternative energy sources and community-driven programming; develop a series of linked microgrids to provide clean, reliable, community-owned energy to residents and public-serving institutions, provide grants for home energy audits, weatherization, electrification and indoor air quality improvements, offer training in green construction and clean energy careers, targeting local contractors, community members and high school students, and establish a mobile recycling program with an educational campaign to reduce waste and illegal dumping. Activities:this project will complete five activities which includes: 1. Community resilience hubs: transform the bobo brazil community center and garden house into resilience hubs with energy efficiency upgrades, alternative energy sources and community-driven programming. 2. First-phase pilot of microgrid strategy: as a centerpiece of its long-term vision, BH plans to develop a series of linked microgrids to provide clean, reliable, community-owned energy to residents and public-serving institutions. To pilot the first phase of that long-range plan, the city will deploy CCG funds to create of a clustered solar-energy development centered at the bobo brazil community center and radiating outward to adjacent homes and community buildings. Each of the cluster's 92 solar installations will come with demand-response technologies that will enable IT to interact in sophisticated ways with the current power grid and seamlessly integrate with the microgrid that BH envisions for the neighborhood's future. 3. Home energy efficiency upgrades: provide grants for home energy audits, weatherization, electrification and indoor air quality improvements. 4. Workforce development programs: offer training in green construction and clean energy careers, targeting local contractors, community members and high school students. 5. Community recycling program: establish a mobile recycling program with an educational campaign to reduce waste and illegal dumping.subrecipient:the city of benton harbor is going to rehabilitate the bobo brazil community center and build a microgrid pilot. The benton harbor community development corporation (bhcdc) will transform a large house into the garden house resilience hub to be a model of an electrified house. Additionally, bhcdc will develop a comprehensive homeowner grant program providing home energy audits and indoor air quality assessments. The program will support electrification, weatherization, and energy efficiency upgrades and improve indoor air quality. Bhcdc and the city of benton harbor will provide workforce development programs to provide residents with high quality, long-term career pathways to sustainable jobs that help reduce GHG emissions. Let US rest will establish a mobile recycling program with an educational campaign to reduce waste and illegal dumping. Outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include renovating two community resilience hubs and providing event attendance, CO-hosting at 4 program per year on climate resilience, host 4 workshops on basic home maintenance, conduct 30 home energy audits, conduct 3 workforce development programs with 60% of trainees completing their respective training program, and have quarterly reports on recycling that was diverted from landfills. The expected outcomes include include reducing pollution, improving public health, and bolstering community strength by ensuring residents benefit directly from the investments. The community resilience hubs will provide safe gathering spaces, increase social connectivity and support residents during climate-change-induced events. The pilot microgrid strategy will enhance energy resilience to mitigate