A non-profit serving low income people in coastal Washington has received grants and the necessary permits to build a wind farm, and will be selling the energy to the local public utility district. The income will help fund the organization's social service mission. According to the organization's executive director, "this project is the first of its kind in the nation to use alternative energy to benefit low income housing."

The city of Spokane, Washington obtained a grant from the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) to fund the creation of its sustainability action plan and joint peak oil-climate change task force. The grant application details the plan and deliverables of the project, as well as providing a snapshot of the political environment of Spokane at the time.

In an attempt to overcome the price barrier to homeowner adoption of energy efficient equipment, Annapolis, Maryland is joining the California cities of Berkeley and Palm Desert in offering low-interest loans that will be tied to the properties, rather than the homeowners.

The board of Babylon, Fla. voted to reclassify carbon emissions as solid waste, enabling them to use some of the town's garbage district surplus to promote green building and energy efficiency measures.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to award approximately $3.4 million in grants to establish projects using emerging technologies to reduce emissions from the nation's existing fleet of diesel engines. Addressing the existing fleet is important because it pre-dates EPA's stringent new particulate and nitrogen oxide standards and diesels remain in use for decades. The deadline for application is 21 Sep 2008.

The EPA has many resources to help municipalities implement parts of their climate change reduction goals. This report lists EPA grants and other programs that may be of use.

If you're struggling with how to fund the development and maintenance of environmental systems--like drinking and waste water systems--the How To Pay: Challenges and Solutions Of Environmental Protection is for you and your local government team.

Three reports created by the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders seek to better explain alternative mechanisms that governments can use to finance and manage infrastructure, and offer examples of how these alternatives have been applied successfully by state and local governments.

Public sector entities are helping meet their energy needs with on-site renewable energy facilities. One key to the long-term success of an on-site renewable project is financing: how will construction be funded and what incentives can be leveraged to ensure the financial feasibility of the project?

Los Angeles County, California is considering imposing a fee on drivers in the county in order to generate funds for public transit and congestion-reduction programs, with the ultimate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. The bill, which is currently in the state legislature, has been endorsed by the County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.