July/August - 29

FUNDING
(SMART) Grants
Program is a discretionary
grant program
established by the BIL
that appropriates $100
million annually for
fiscal years 20222026.
These grants
are for el igible
public sector agencies
to
conduct
demonstration
projects focused
on advanced
smart community
technologies and
systems to improve transportation
efficiency and safety.
SMART grants may be used for
projects that include coordinated automation,
connected vehicles, sensors,
systems integration, delivery and
logistics, innovative aviation, a smart
grid or traffic signals.
The SMART Grants Program is
divided into two stages: Planning
and Prototyping Grants (Stage 1)
and Implementation Grants (Stage 2).
You can expect that only recipients
of Stage 1 grants will be eligible for
Stage 2 grants.
The National Electric Vehicle
Infrastructure (NEVI) Program
provides dedicated funding to states
to deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging
infrastructure and establish an
interconnected network to facilitate
data collection, access and reliability.
The guidance for funding eligibility
focuses on creating a charging
infrastructure that will put the U.S.
on a nationwide network of 500,000
EV chargers by 2030 and ensure a
convenient, affordable, reliable and
equitable charging experience for
all users.
Funding through the NEVI
program can cover up to 80% of eligible
project costs, including:
* Acquiring, installing and connecting
a network of EV charging
stations to facilitate data
collection, access and reliability.
* Proper operation and maintenance
of EV charging stations.
* Long-term EV charging station
data sharing.
The Inflation Reduction Act of
2022 (IRA invests $369 billion into
climate-related provisions and creates
a path toward significantly reducing
carbon emissions by 40% by 2030
through multiple avenues. This is an
excellent opportunity for a building
owner to reduce their carbon footprint
and lower their energy costs. The act
also includes competitive grants for
developing and producing sustainable
aviation fuels (SAF) to get aviation on
a path to net-zero emissions.
The IRA expands the existing
179D tax deduction for energy-efficient
commercial buildings. Projects
with an Energy Use Intensity
(EUI) 25% better than the current
ASHRAE 90.1 baseline can deduct
$2.50 per square foot, capping out
at $5 per square foot for a 50% EUI
improvement. Baselining your existing
facilities' EUI against your new
or retrofitted facility can help incentivize
the sustainable redevelopment
of your facility.
Along with the 17D tax deduction,
the IRA extends the existing
Energy Investment Tax Credit. As a
result, building owners can receive
a tax credit of up to 30% of investment
in qualifying renewable energy
properties, including solar power and
microturbines, fuel cells, geothermal
heat pumps, combined heat and power
and waste energy recovery properties.
The legislation includes
smart
glazing alongside solar, wind and
storage for an Investment Tax Credit
(ITC) and is expected to accelerate
market adoption of smart glazing.
When one of our clients couldn't
invest in smart glazing for its terminal
because of the cost, this funding
made it attainable with the same cost
as standard glazing. It's just one way
this legislation can create smarter and
better functioning buildings with
minimal additional cost to the owner.
S.1055 - Airport Infrastructure
Resilience Act of 2023 (AIRA) -
While not approved yet, the proposed
Airport Infrastructure Resilience
Act of 2023 would establish a pilot
program to provide competitive
grants for airports to improve their
infrastructure's resilience to changing
conditions, weather events and
natural disasters. Funding would be
for new projects as well as for making
improvements to existing infrastructure
and may include the purchasing
of monitoring equipment or services.
Within one year of its enactment,
the Secretary shall establish the pilot
program and award grants to incentivize
planning, design and construction
projects that mitigate the impact of
airports on the environment, based
on the best available science and engineering
standards. The pilot program
shall prioritize natural infrastructure
and nature-based projects and require
sponsors of airports to submit applications
containing information on how
the proposed project will benefit the
airport and surrounding communities.
The pilot program shall be
subject to public consultation and
periodic reporting to the Secretary,
who shall evaluate the program
annually and submit reports to the
Committee on Commerce, Science
and Transportation, the Committee
on Environment and Public Works
of the Senate, and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of
the House of Representatives.
To carry out this section, $300
million shall be appropriated to the
Secretary for each of fiscal years 2024
through 2028. Not less than 15% of
the funds made available shall be
used to award grants to sponsors of
regional airports.
Of course, numerous other specialty
programs might apply to airports
based on the projects they might have
underway. 
Read more at www.
AviationPros.com/53060571
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July/August

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