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RMI and e-Lab are excited to open applications for Forge 2018, our second annual convening to accelerate the design of innovative projects that connect low-income communities and households to clean energy benefits. The two-and-a-half day working meeting will be held at the Garrison Institute in Garrison, NY on June 11-13, 2018.

This year, e-Lab is seeking applications from non-profits, utilities, community-based organizations, local and state government, and entrepreneurs engaged in projects including the following topics:

• Innovative deployment of distributed energy resources (DERs): projects related to deployment of efficiency, renewables, energy storage, demand flexibility, microgrids, beneficial electrification, and mobility in low-income communities and households

• Utility-community partnerships: projects in which utilities and low-income communities partner to create new DER projects or business models that have the potential to scale clean energy solutions and provide mutual benefits

• Government-community partnerships: projects in which local or state governments are working to develop projects in low-income communities, in partnership with those communities.
• Unique financing and ownership models: projects that employ cutting-edge financing strategies or enable partial or shared community ownership of DERs, or seek to overcome financial barriers to low-income participation in clean energy solutions