BEF does not fund any type of residential or personal project. BEF's mission in providing grant funding is to increase public awareness and knowledge of renewable energy technology in order to catalyze its widespread adoption at a grassroots level. As such, we only fund projects with a strong educational and/or community outreach component.

However, there are outside resources that can provide assistance to residential homeowners. For information about incentives that may be available for your home, check the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency.

If you live in the Northwest and the technology you are installing is solar electric, you may be able to join the Northwest Solar Cooperative to generate income from the sale of your excess power. Or if you are interested in small-scale residential wind power, Northwest SEED may have useful resources for finding a local wind cooperative.

BEF does not provide funds for any type of project in the research and development phase. While such projects could potentially have widespread public benefit and educational value, BEF is not a research institution, and as such does not have the resources to evaluate the feasibility of new technology development.

To begin the application process, please click here. Note that certain funding partners have specific deadlines. Once you are familiar with the steps involved in the application process, you will need to fill out the electronic application form. Only complete applications submitted in PDF format will be considered.

BEF considers highly visible and exceptionally innovative projects for community buildings that are well used by their constituent communities. These projects may include such facilities as libraries, recreation centers, civic centers, town halls and environmental learning centers. Please consider your application through this lens. To apply, please fill out the application here.

Due to established funding relationships and geographic proximity of the team, many of BEF projects are clustered in the Northwest, but there are no geographical limitations for funding eligibility. The Project Management Group has developed school and community projects in 15 states and in Washington, D.C. and is always interested in educating more students and communities about renewable energy.

While we certainly do not want to burden the school/organization with obligations, we do expect that if you are chosen to receive grant funding, you will:

• Implement an education and/or public outreach strategy
• Complete the deliverables proposed in the application and agreed upon in the host contract
• Provide support throughout the installation
• Agree to own and maintain the solar-electric system
• Send annual reports to BEF regarding the status of the PV system and education program

BEF strives to fully fund projects so that no cash contributions are required of the host school/organization. The host facility will, in fact, save money on their electrical bills by generating electricity with the PV system. However, in the event of theft, damage, or vandalism, the school/organization is expected to cover the costs to repair or replace the PV system. We require the system to be covered under the school/organization’s all-risk insurance policy, but the cost of the system is usually much lower than the deductible.

It is certainly possible to teach students about renewable energy from a textbook alone, but direct, demonstration-based learning including interaction with a photovoltaic system is more powerful and effective for students and the surrounding community.

Implementing these projects at schools educates teachers, facility personnel, school administrators and other community members, such as inspectors and permitting agencies, about what it takes to install a utility-interactive renewable energy system. This kind of learning only comes with the experience of installing an actual system.

In the classroom, the Solar 4R Schools program is committed to hands-on learning, with age-appropriate activity guides and science kits that include such interactive projects as solar car racing, solar cooking and making sun-paper art. The core of the program, however, is focused on allowing students to see and touch the technology and monitor its function. Students are able to download live data from their school's PV system from www.Solar4rSchools.org and learn how to manipulate and graph this data and compare it to PV performance at other schools. By using data generated directly from an on-site system rather than a remotely located system, concepts are imprinted more concretely.

Once installed, the school's PV system will demonstrate the clean silence of solar electricity, producing a bit of electricity and serving as a learning tool for the students. After some initial excitement around the opening event, there should not be any day-to-day distractions created by the system.

No. Project champions, by definition, are enthusiastic and have volunteered for their position. We have heard no reports of teachers or community leaders requesting additional compensation. Generally, Project Champions consider the donation of equipment, labor and educational materials to their schools or community centers ample compensation for their time.