Grangeville, Twin Falls UMCs moving forward in applications
With an 8,500 square foot building and a boiler that’s 60 years old, Grangeville United Methodist Church in Idaho spends on average $8,000 to $9,000 every year heating the building with traditional fuel oil.
Thanks to a new grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Energy through the University of Colorado-Boulder, Grangeville UMC is in line to receive grant funding to retrofit their system to make it more energy efficient.
“We’ve submitted our documentation and we’ll see where it goes,” said Joe Cladouhos, a member of the congregation and chair of the administrative team.
It’s an opportunity open to other churches in Idaho as well.
Through its first round of grant applications, Grangeville and Twin Falls UMCs were two of 54 nonprofits identified to move forward in the Renewing America’s Nonprofits-Rocky Mountain Region (RAN-RM) grant program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through the University of Colorado-Boulder.
The goal is to help non-profits who otherwise couldn’t afford renewable energy upgrades to their facilities. When the University of Colorado-Boulder received word in 2023 they were getting a $5.8 million US DOE grant, they were charged with identifying partners who could assist in recruiting grant applications.
Along with the Methodists Helping Methodists foundation, the Mountain Sky Conference of The United Methodist Church was named as one of those partners, as oversees churches in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and one congregation in Idaho, which are all states in the RAN-RM region.
The Mountain Sky Conference graciously offered to help churches in Idaho that are part of the Oregon-Idaho and Pacific Northwest Conferences apply, too.
“It was a real straight-forward process and easy to apply,” said Cladouhos. “We don’t know if we’ll get any money out of it, but it sure would be nice if we did.”
The Renewing America’s Nonprofits- Rocky Mountain (RAN-RM) team analyzed 12 months of energy use (electricity and fossil fuel) of all applicants using tools from the Department of Energy. The analysis included calculations of percentage potential energy saving, energy use intensity and heating sensitivity compared to outside air temperature.
The 54 applicants allowed to proceed (including Grangeville and Twin Falls UMCs) will now receive a Level 1 Energy Audit that will be completed by RAN-RM team members as well as students from the University of Colorado-Boulder through May 2025. This phase will focus on collecting detailed information on the applicants’ facilities, including the building envelop, occupancy patterns, energy consumption, and building systems.
Based on the results, 20-30 applicants will be selected to move forward with a Level 2 energy audit in the next phase.
The RAN-RM team is currently seeking applicants for the next round of grant funding. More information is available on the RAN-RM website, with a list of criteria needed.
