Industrial Symbiosis Grant Program

To view full opportunity -https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpr-webs-vendor.des.wa.gov%2FSearch_BidDetails.aspx%3FID%3D56341&data=05%7C02%7COEDCProcurement%40commerce.wa.gov%7C2453f920a50c4db85b1508de2c804b5b%7C11d0e217264e400a8ba057dcc127d72d%7C0%7C0%7C638997126708389875%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=gvvzhqEDC8%2BIwT3IqqN%2BomRQuX1xhDgqTOJRANzZ6bk%3D&reserved=0PURPOSE AND BACKGROUNDThe Washington State Department of Commerce hereafter called "COMMERCE,” is initiating this competitive Request for Applications (RFA) to solicit proposals from those qualified and interested in grant funding to support the progress of industrial symbiosis projects located across Washington state. First pioneered inKalundborg, Denmark, industrial symbiosis is the practice to divert the waste streams generated by organizations to be repurposed and innovated into beneficial resources for use by another industry. As a key strategy for a thriving circular economy, industrial symbiosis projects help efforts to reduce environmental impacts in our communities, develop a local resilient supply chain, and grow economic opportunities.COMMERCE established the Industrial Waste Coordination Program (RCW 43.31.625) to facilitate local waste exchange and provide funding through the Industrial Symbiosis Grant Program (RCW 43.31.635) for eligible projects that demonstrate industrial waste diversion through recycling innovation. For information on previously funded projects, please go to Commerce’sprogram webpage. The Industrial Symbiosis Grant Program is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available atwww.climate.wa.gov.OBJECTIVESBy administering this grant funding, COMMERCE seeks to advance the environmental and economic benefits from increasing industrial symbiosis projects across the state. Funding projects through the Industrial Symbiosis Grant Program supports progress to reduce resource consumption & greenhouse gas emissions through more sustainable industrial processes. Innovations include projects which transform industrial by-products such as waste materials, waste heat, and wastewater into valuable resources for use in other industries. Projects must emphasize the development of end users and partnerships for circular resources.This RFA will evaluate eligible industrial symbiosis project applications in a competitive process and intends to award multiple contracts.RCW 43.31.635directs grant awards to provide support for research, development, and deployment of existing and emerging industrial waste coordination projects. Scopes of work can stem from (but not limited to):Conceptual work by public utilities to redirect their waste to productive use;Existing inventories or project concepts involving specific biobased wastes converted to renewable natural gas;Research on product development using a specific waste flow;Feasibility studies to evaluate potential biobased resources;Feasibility studies for publicly owned utilities to evaluate business models to transform to multiutility operations or for the evaluation of potential symbiosis connections with other regional businesses;Other local waste coordination projects as determined by COMMERCE.Special Preference:One of the legislative goals is to strengthen the circular economy include forming industrial symbiosis parks in Washington - where organizations co-locate and turn waste such as excess heat, energy, wastewater, or waste materials into valuable resources. The core approach is to create integrated systems that keep resources flowing through multiple entities in a circular manner. Partners in industrial symbiosis parks share opportunities for environmental impact reduction, supply chain sourcing, increased productivity, and developing market end users. Examples of this include co-locating with existing manufacturing facilities where feedstock is sourced from an existing waste stream, using excess heat from one facility to power processes in another, co-locating projects to share energy infrastructure. Based on this focus, an additional 10 points will be given to project applications which meet at least one of the following criteria in order to help facilitate the development of industrial symbiosis parks across Washington state:Applicant demonstrates progress steps taken among two or more organizations planning to co-locate at an identified location and intend to share integrated resource streams (water, energy, materials, etc.). This can be provided through submitting a letter of intent and/or a memorandum of understanding with partner(s). Please include the land use zoning and/or regulatory permits required to achieve the proposed project; orApplicant demonstrates progress steps taken for an existing operational site to plan and enable future capacity for additional businesses/organizations to co-locate and also intend to share integrated resource streams (water, energy, materials, etc.) Please include the land use zoning and/or regulatory permits required to achieve the proposed project; orApplicant demonstrates progress steps taken among two or more organizations to innovate industrial by-products and waste materials into valuable resources for shared use (unrelated to co-location status). This can be provided through a letter of intent and/or memorandum of understanding with partner(s).Grant allocations are subject to the following criteria (RCW 43.31.635):Geographic diversity, with funding to be distributed equally in western and eastern parts of the state, urban and rural areas, and small towns and large cities;Estimated timeframe for project implementation and scale of economic or environmental benefits;Requirement for awarded contracts to provide one-to-one (1:1) nonstate to state match fundingIndividual grant awards will not exceed $500,000;Awards will avoid creating or worsening environmental health disparities. Applications can be informed by the use of theWashington Department of Health's Environmental Health Disparities Mapand the Washington Office of Financial Management’sOverburdened Communities Mapping Tool.