Net-Zero Resilience Preparation for Municipal and Rural Electric Providers (RFP 6129)

NYSERDA seeks proposals for net-zero and deep decarbonization demonstration projects supporting municipal electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives across New York State. A total of $1 million is available for award, with up to $500,000 per award for demonstrations of net-zero emissions technology or other deep decarbonization solutions. Eligible proposals must demonstrate innovative technology or processes implemented in the service territory of a New York State municipal utility or rural cooperative utility, with high potential for replication and significant greenhouse gas reduction opportunities.

Projects must support New York's decarbonization and environmental justice goals under the Climate Act. Projects focusing on heat pump technologies, building shell retrofits, and air sealing will be prioritized. Applicants may include one or more electric municipal utilities or rural electric cooperatives. Entities other than municipal or cooperative utilities may apply on their behalf, provided a letter of commitment from at least one New York State municipal utility or rural cooperative partner is included.

The program addresses climate resilience and decarbonization together to maximize investment value and lifetime, enabling creative solutions for each jurisdiction. Successful projects will demonstrate sound technical merit and have strong potential for driving future investment in deep decarbonization and net-zero solutions across the state.

Round 1 submission deadline is August 24, 2026. Applications must be submitted online through NYSERDA's portal. All contractors producing content intended for publication to the World Wide Web must adhere to NYSERDA's Accessibility Policy for deliverables including documents, audio, video, graphics, web pages, and other multimedia content.