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<br />Page 18 of 22 <br /> <br />record serving residents and hope that it inspires confidence in <br />Habitat’s ability to maximize an investment from the Orange County <br />Climate Action Grant to bring the benefits of renewable energy to low- <br />income homebuyers. <br />26. Please describe any prior <br />challenges you have <br />encountered in past grants <br />and how you have worked <br />through them. How may this <br />impact this proposed project? <br />Habitat has a 40-year history of effectively using public and private <br />grant funds to support a broad array of programs and services to help <br />ensure that everyone in Orange County has a decent place to live. This <br />year we are looking to add a new staff member to our team who will be <br />helping with grants to ensure we are meeting all compliance and <br />reporting requirements in a timely manner. <br />27. Please describe one to three <br />key partnerships/ <br />collaborations that add the <br />most value to the success of <br />the proposed project. <br />Habitat is excited to continue our partnership with Southern Energy <br />Management (SEM). SEM helps to make Habitat’s solar program <br />possible by providing an installation rate of $10,000 per home, <br />discounted from their typical rate of $19,000 per home. Solar <br />installation is specialized and costly labor, and it would be difficult for <br />us to fund our solar program without this partnership. <br />28. If this project is not selected <br />for funding in this round, what <br />other funding might be used to <br />support it within the next 5 <br />years? <br />☐ Other capital or operational funds <br />☐ None. This is a unique opportunity. <br />☒ Unknown (please describe): Habitat is not aware of alternative local <br />funds available to support our solar projects planned for 2025. We <br />hope to take advantage of green energy funds from the Inflation <br />Reduction Act (IRA), accessed through EnergizeNC and/or Habitat for <br />Humanity International. However, these funding opportunities will <br />likely not open until the end of 2025 and details are TBA. <br /> <br />Criterion 5 - Local Economic Development <br />This criterion has a maximum score of 3 pts (out of a total of 26 pts). <br /> <br />29. How many Orange County <br />residents are employed by <br />your organization? <br />15 Habitat employees currently live in Orange County. <br />30. What project materials will be <br />purchased from sources within <br />Orange County or North <br />Carolina? What percent of the <br />total materials do these <br />represent? <br />Due to the high-tech nature of the materials used for PV installation, <br />most solar materials come from outside of the county. As a renewable <br />energy company, Habitat’s partner Southern Energy Management <br />seeks to ensure that its operations are as green as possible. Its solar <br />panels are American made. Habitat’s new home construction materials <br />are sourced from the local tri-state area. In addition to local volunteer <br />labor, we also use local subcontractors to complete more skilled work. <br />An economic assessment completed in 2019 showed that Habitat’s <br />work generated $2.03 million in economic impact in Orange County <br />annually. Habitat seeks to reduce waste wherever possible. In fiscal <br />year 2019, Habitat’s ReStores diverted 1,200 tons from the landfill by <br />receiving and reselling 8,113 items from Triangle residents. <br />Docusign Envelope ID: AA482F5E-25D4-439A-862A-65CC63DF3A74