21 Feb $40,000 in Carbon Offset Challenge Grants now available

February 15, 2011

The City of Austin’s new Carbon Offset Challenge Grants are designed to highlight local projects doing their part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. $40,000 will be divided among up to 16 projects, and up to $10,000 can be awarded to one project. Solicitation information is posted on the City of Austin Purchasing website.


Last fall, Mayor Lee Leffingwell announced the creation of the Carbon Offsets Support Challenge. A City of Austin team will review proposals for the grants, selecting projects that demonstrate a clear methodology for delivering verifiable local carbon reductions. The City of Austin will then give Austinites and visitors the opportunity to purchase offsets that result using the Austin Climate Protection Program Carbon Calculator.

The Carbon Offsets Support Challenge will identify visible greenhouse gas reduction or sequestration projects within Travis County. Examples of projects that may be considered under the Support Challenge might include the use of grant funding to:

• Grow food on site to feed school children, reducing GHG emissions associated with importing the same amount of food from out-of-state.
• Support the installation of solar panels on low income housing units, reducing GHG emissions associated with energy used from non-renewable sources.
• Install a digester to capture methane produced during manure storage that converts the methane into energy, reducing GHG emissions associated with energy created by non-renewable sources.
• Support the conversion of vehicles to lower emission fuel sources.

The City of Austin Purchasing website offers more information on this opportunity, including instructions on how to prepare your proposal. Once at the Purchasing website, here’s how to find it:

Click on "Vendor Self Service (VSS)"
Click on "Public Access"
Click on "Business Opportunities"
Click on "Search for Solicitations"
Click on "RFINT-1100-TVN0100"
Click on "Attachments" to download the details