GFO-23-305 - Food Production Investment Program (FPIP) 2024

Food manufacturing, specifically processing and production, is an industrial sector that traditionally has been highly energy- and carbon-intensive, significantly contributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Food manufacturing is a critical area of opportunity to advance industrial decarbonization and electrification efforts, but it faces many unique barriers and challenges due to its diversity.

Food processing and production costs tend to be higher in California than elsewhere,  potentially making it difficult for in-state companies’ products to compete with similar products produced outside of the state. Supporting the updates and improvements of food production facilities with technologies that are energy efficient, decarbonizing, or both will reduce operating costs and GHG emissions. This support can help ensure California’s food processing industries remain competitive, operational, and within California.

The Food Production Investment Program (FPIP) was established in 2018 and initially funded by Assembly Bill (AB) 109 (Ting, Chapter 249, Statutes of 2017) and Senate Bill (SB) 856 (Chapter 30, Statutes of 2018). In 2022, FPIP received additional funding from AB 209 (Chapter 251, Statutes of 2022) to continue program implementation. The program uses Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds (GGRF) from the California Climate Investment Program (CCI) and General Fund monies to further the purposes of reducing GHG emissions, reducing energy use, and sustaining grid reliability.

The program's goals are to accelerate the adoption of advanced energy efficiency, decarbonization, renewable energy technologies, and to support the electrical grid reliability. (Pub. Resources Code, §§ 25663 – 25663.6) The technologies to be funded by this Grant Funding Opportunity (GFO) will help reduce energy costs, maintain product quantity and quality, and reduce GHG emissions associated with food production.

This program is open to all California food processors and related support facilities. All projects funded under FPIP must be located in California. Projects must also support electrical grid reliability, reduce GHG emissions, and further the purposes of AB 32 (Nunez, Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, Chapter 488, 2006) and SB 32 (Pavley, California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, Chapter 249, 2016).

FPIP will assist California food producers in achieving the following:

• Energy Efficiency: Support the adoption of commercially available (“drop-in ready”) and emerging energy-efficient equipment upgrades that are replacements or additions to existing equipment or processes that provide greater GHG emission and energy reductions than current best practices or industry-standard equipment.
• Grid Reliability: Support the adoption of commercially available and emerging technologies needed to support grid reliability, especially during net peak periods.

See Section II of this solicitation for eligibility requirements. Applications will be evaluated as described in Section IV of this solicitation. If an applicant submits multiple applications, each application must be for a distinct project (i.e., no overlap with respect to the tasks described in the Scope of Work).