Mobilizing Climate-Aligned and Community-Led Capital

Registration

Registration will be available on September 9.

Registration is for all 3 days. When registering, you are affirming your attendance for all 3 days.

Seating is limited to 150 attendees. We request that no more than four people per organization/entity attend this event.

Event Registration Cancellations by Registrants

There is no fee to attend this event, however, to ensure we are utilizing funds appropriately and allowing access for those who wish to attend, please cancel your registration by Tuesday, October 15, 2024 if you can no longer attend.

Registration Transfer Within Organization

Registrants may request to transfer their registration to another individual within their organization in lieu of cancellation. If you have difficulties transferring your registration within CVENT, please contact us directly at mndeedevents@state.mn.us.

Equal Access and Accommodations

DEED is committed to providing equal access to this conference for all participants. If you require alternative formats or other reasonable accommodations, please contact mndeedevents@state.mn.us by the close of business on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.

Virtual Attendance

We are unable to provide a virtual option for this event.

Day 1: What is GGRF, and what does it mean for Minnesota?

1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Welcome and introduction

1:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Keynote

1:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Introduction to the Inflation Reduction Act and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund

• Description: The IRA introduced a suite of clean energy incentives. This session will provide an overview of select IRA incentives (to be followed by deep dives during sessions on Day 2), including spending across sectors, project types, and geographies; private capital mobilization forecasts; and general clean energy investment trends. It will also cover Justice40, Build America Buy America, and Davis Bacon at a high level. The second half of the session will focus on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), a $27 billion IRA program capitalizing a national network of clean energy financiers, with a focus on improving capital access in low-income and historically disadvantaged communities. Primed to unlock over $250 billion in 10 years to advance environmental equity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create new skilled jobs, and build wealth across communities, GGRF can be a catalyst for community and economic development benefits through clean energy deployment. 
• Objective: Participants understand the scale of IRA programs and incentives, and how the IRA and GGRF are economic development catalysts that should change the way all participants think about their jobs.

3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Activity for attendees to get to know each other

3:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

BREAK

4:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

Panel: Minnesota's Green Financing Landscape

• Description: Clean energy financing can come in all shapes and sizes. Although real barriers exist to realizing and scaling affordable clean energy projects, the IRA and GGRF offer a toolkit of solutions and equip new actors to get involved. This panel will feature a variety of lender perspectives across the community development and clean energy landscape to discuss the status and outlook of green financing for the state of Minnesota, as well as the challenges and opportunities different types of institutions face to capitalizing on the IRA and GGRF to deliver climate-aligned and community-led financing solutions.
• Objective: Hear from MN practitioners about the state of climate-aligned community development finance and where they see barriers and paths to scaling green lending.

4:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Closing and setting up for day 2

Day 2: Going Deeper on Clean Energy Opportunities and Available Incentives

8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Welcome back

9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.

Keynote

9:15 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Solar and Storage

• Description: This session will cover different types of solar and storage projects, how they're traditionally financed, and the available IRA incentives. It will also include an overview of MN's Solar for All program.
• Objective: Participants understand the new landscape for solar and opportunities for innovative local financing.

11:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.

Instructions

11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Lunch and transition to breakout rooms

CFDI Track

12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Qualified Project Overview – Net-Zero Buildings

• Description: This session will cover what goes into net-zero building projects, key financing challenges, and complementary IRA incentives.
• Objective: Participants understand the new landscape for net-zero buildings and opportunities for innovative local financing.

1:45 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Qualified Project Overview - Zero Emissions Transportation

• Description: This session will provide an overview of light-, medium-, and heavy-duty electric vehicles as well as EV chargers, including cost, financing, and federal incentives. It will also cover micro-mobility opportunities.
• Objective: Participants understand the new landscape for zero emissions transportation and opportunities for innovative local financing.

EDO Track

12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.

Reinvesting in Brownfields & Energy Communities for the Clean Energy Economy

• Description: The industrial revolution fundamentally reshaped America's economy but left behind a legacy of brownfields and outdated energy infrastructure. Now, mining, steel, and coal communities have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to own their energy and economic transition. Brownfields and others sites in "energy communities" can become hosts to clean energy and new manufacturing. The IRA deliberately encourages reinvesting in these communities. This session will highlight how new federal incentives can help communities capture the moment and reinvest in the clean energy economy.  
• Objective: Participants understand IRA opportunities for energy communities.

1:15 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.

Green Hydrogen & 45V

• Description: The IRA created a new hydrogen production tax credit that could help grow the green hydrogen industry. This session will provide a summary of the opportunity green hydrogen presents and how the new tax credit design will affect projects.
• Objective: Participants understand green hydrogen and the incentives the IRA created.

1:50 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Cleantech Manufacturing & 48C/45X

• Description: The IRA created a new, uncapped, Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit (45X) that provided general per unit incentives to manufacturers making equipment for solar, wind, batteries, and critical minerals. These tax credits can spur new domestic manufacturing, supporting new domestic content requirements/adders created in the IRA, and creating new domestic jobs. The IRA also re-upped funding for the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit (48C) to $10B, with $4B going towards energy communities. This competitive tax credit goes towards clean energy manufacturing and recycling projects, GHG emission reduction projects in industrial facilities, and critical material projects.
• Objective: Participants understand what types of cleantech manufacturing projects IRA supports.

2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

BREAK

3: 00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

The Real Deal – Up Close & Personal with Minnesota Clean Energy Financing

• Description: Participants will hear from peer practitioners in real-world case study showcases, where select groups will deep dive into a few examples of past Minnesota clean energy and manufacturing deals, including financing structure, mechanisms, process, and lessons learned.
• Objective: Hear about real-world deals to help translate information presented in previous sessions into a practitioner context.

4:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Wrap-up

Day 3: Maximizing GGRF benefits for Minnesota through economic development

8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Welcome back

9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Panel: Minnesota state resources to complement federal opportunities

• Description: Officials from [TBD state agencies] will share programs that complement federal opportunities, including examples of these programs in action and how to stack them with federal incentives.
• Objective: Raise awareness about state resources and how to combine them with federal incentives.

10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Break

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Presentation of Twin Cities Region Community Financing Roadmap

• Description: RMI will present new analysis of high-opportunity energy transition sectors for Minnesota and for the Twin Cities region as well as constraints on these opportunities and collaboration needed to attract investment. There will be time for audience Q&A.
• Objective: Improve regional capacity to attract clean investment, including by:

• EDOs: Improve understanding of clean energy transition sector dynamics and their implications for transitioning legacy industries and attracting new opportunities.
• Community lenders: Improve understanding of what market gaps to fill and who to work with to fill them.
• Workforce organizations: Improve understanding of what programs and industries to focus on.

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Lunch

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Roadmap working sessions

• Description: Attendees will break into groups to react to analysis and connect the analysis with the program opportunities they've heard about throughout the bootcamp. There are several options for how to define groups, including geography, stakeholder type, sector, or creating stakeholder cross sections in each group. One group should be Twin Cities-focused stakeholders.
• Objective: Identify concrete next steps for different stakeholders based on the analysis presented and drawing on other resources.

3:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.

Closing

Hotel

DoubleTree by Hilton St. Paul Downtown
411 Minnesota Street
St Paul MN 55101

A block of rooms has been reserved at a reduced rate of $148/night. Rooms are available for Sunday - Wednesday evenings.

You will receive the link to the hotel block of rooms upon completion of your registration.

More information about Saint Paul hotels can be found on Visit Saint Paul's website.

Getting to DEED Headquarters

Great Northern Building
180 E 5th St Suite 1200
St. Paul, MN 55101
651-259-7114 or Greater Minnesota 800-657-3858
DEED.CustomerService@state.mn.us

Parking

Parking is available on-street or at the following ramps and lots. Visit St. Paul's Downtown parking map.

Other Transportation

DEED is located near the Central Station of the Green Line. Bus transportation is also nearby.

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