Slipstream, a Madison nonprofit dedicated to helping provide building solutions to address climate change, has been awarded $2.8 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to help tribal nations in Michigan adopt and implement efficient building codes.
The award is part of $90 million going to 25 projects being funded nationwide under the second round of the DOE's Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation initiative (RECI), according to a news release. That $225 million program was established by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help states, cities, tribal nations and their partners implement updated energy codes for residential and commercial buildings.
The awards will also help advance the implementation of DOE’s Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy by 2050: A National Blueprint for the Buildings Sector, which lays out a national strategy to significantly reduce building greenhouse gas emissions while providing affordable, equitable and resilient solutions for communities across America.
DOWNLOAD the free MBJ app for breaking news alerts on your phone
Slipstream intends to work closely with Michigan tribal nations to provide training and resources to assist with code adoption and implementation, as well as offer innovative approaches to carbon-reduction strategies for new and existing buildings.
The nonprofit organization was created by the 2019 merger of Seventhwave, formerly the Energy Center of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp., organizations dedicated to offering energy efficiency services.
The RECI project awards were selected as a result of a stakeholder engagement process, the Biden administration said. The projects span a variety of integral code-update activities, such as workforce development, community engagement and research and data collection.
The awards also augment many of the key activities already begun under RECI, including increased support for compliance and enforcement and ensuring equity and environmental justice.
