PORT AUTHORITY PROVIDES $35,000 GRANT TO CITY OF COMPASSION CDC FOR SOLAR ENERGY GENERATING FACILITY
TOLEDO, Ohio, January 21, 2010 – The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Board of Directors has granted City of Compassion CDC $35,000 for predevelopment costs to develop a solar photovoltaic generating facility on a 19 acre site adjacent to the Xunlight Corporation. The award comes from the Port Authority Community Economic Development Initiative grant and loan program.
The grant funds will be used for predevelopment costs for development of a solar field including legal and environmental services.
The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Community Economic Development Initiative funding comes from tax levy dollars. This grant and loan program is designed to assist community based organizations in creating new or revitalizing existing commercial structures that will attract or retain businesses in Lucas County and facilitate new employment opportunities. Grants and loans are awarded to economic development projects undertaken by eligible, neighborhood-based organizations. Grant or loan recipients must be 501(c) 3 organizations in good standing and must demonstrate the capacity to manage funds and develop real estate. Applicants must demonstrate that they are a neighborhood-based, community development organization and must operate within Lucas County.
“This project is ideal for the Community Economic Development Initiative as it promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy (EERE) opportunity and job training, “said Paul Toth, President and CEO of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.
“We thank the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority for this predevelopment grant and for their commitment to innovative alternative energy projects” said Dr. William James, Board President and CEO of City of Compassion CDC. Council President Wilma Brown also was a major contributor to this project. The sit is in District 1, the Council District she represents.
The grant recipient, has worked in collaboration with the Lucas County Improvement Corporation (LCIC) who is providing technical support, Hull and Associates who is providing environmental support, and Dovetail Solar & Wind providing technical support in the area of Renewable Energy. The grant recipient continues to identify additional development partners. The project also has support from Mayor Mike Bell who added “This is a perfect example of local agencies coordinating to put local funding into local projects. I look forward to ongoing opportunities for the city of Toledo to work with agencies like the Port and LCIC to ensure we continue to spur regional development."
The Community Economic Development Initiative grant and loan program is currently accepting applications. Applications and additional information are available at
www.toledoportauthority.org.
Information about City of Compassion CDC
The City of Compassion mission is to engage in the design, promotion and implementation of research, initiatives, programs, projects, and activities in the Toledo metropolitan area involving renewable energy generation, energy conservation, and energy efficiency for the purpose of:
(i) reducing demand for and dependence on fossil fuels;
(ii) reducing the need for the construction or other procurement of additional power generation capacity and infrastructure;
(iii) increasing the use of clean, renewable energy resources;
(iv) reducing the economic burdens associated with high energy costs on poor, distressed and underprivileged members of the community and more generally on individual and family end-users of energy; and/or
reducing negative effects on the local, national, and global environment and climate resulting from use of fossil fuels and the consumption of energy generated by fossil fuels, and thereby improving the economy, health, and social welfare of the local, national, and global community and society at large.
The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority’s business is transportation. That business is shaped by our mission to move people and cargo through the region while employing innovative finance programs to stimulate economic development. For more information, please visit
www.toledoportauthority.org.
It is the mission of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority to continuously leverage our strategic geographic position, resources and economic development proficiency to provide increased business opportunities—built upon and around our innovative transportation and logistics expertise—while promoting our community and region within the global marketplace. We will accomplish this through unmatched speed and efficiency of service, collaborative and strategic partnerships, community stewardship and the continued generation and execution of new ideas and innovations.
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