The purpose of the New Energy Technology (NET) program is to harness the creative talents that have always abounded in Connecticut to develop the most innovative energy-saving and renewable energy technologies and to aid you in getting them to the market. The intent of the program is to save energy, to improve air quality, and to help invigorate Connecticut's economy by creating employment opportunities.

Grants are awarded to applicants who submit promising Connecticut technologies. In addition to the grant, guidance is provided to recipients to find technical and financial assistance. This could include locating potential industry partners and/or identifying and applying for other state and federally sponsored programs. Although additional assistance is not guaranteed, these programs are potential sources of aid, such as: low-interest loans, grants, business-plan development, marketing assistance and possibly procurement opportunities. The New Energy Technology Grants have been given for the past fourteen years to help small firms commercialize new energy related technologies. These grants provide $10,000 each for up to five small firms.

WHO SHOULD APPLY? Any Connecticut resident or any company located in Connecticut that has 30 or fewer employees and has a technology which:

• Saves energy or facilitates the use of a renewable energy resource;
• Has not been commercialized. OPM is looking for products which are in the prototype development stage or have been manually fabricated in limited quantities.

Previous award recipients have used the grant funds for product development, prototype testing, patent application, business plan development, payroll, and product marketing and promotion at trade shows. Note that we are not looking to fund experiments, unless they are part of a new and innovative use of a technology.

Click here for PDF of current application.

K-12 Schools-Heating System Efficiency Grants

Grants are available for K-12 schools to upgrade heating systems in order to make them more efficient.  The program will provide up to 50% match to a maximum of $30,000 for efficiency improvements to heating plants and distribution systems.  (Funds cannot be used for any conversions.)  The program also provides 50% funding for a required engineering analysis of the heating/distribution system, if the analysis is submitted as part of an application under this program.  Funding for this program is limited.

Contact: John Ruckes, (860) 418-6384; john.ruckes@ct.gov

Building Operator Certification

Several Level 1 and Level 2 Building Operator Certification courses will be offered to municipal and state agency building management personnel between fall of 2009 and spring of 2012. For information on course content, visit http://www.theboc.info/training.html.  

 Contact: Maraide Sullivan, (860) 418-6371; maraide.sullivan@ct.gov