Created in 2018 from the Budget Acts of 2017 and 2018, the California Food Production Investment Program (FPIP) encourages, and generously incentivizes, California food producers to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The program's starting budget in 2018 provided almost $60 million to help increase adoption of advanced renewable and energy-efficient technologies. FPIP has since grown to at least $74 million in available grants for its 2019 awarding year and has the ability to fund up to 85% of a food production facility's equipment cost for drop-in energy technologies and emerging energy technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions on-site. Awardees include California dairies, food, wineries, and other processing facilities.

Reducing Food-Related GHG Emissions

The food processing industry is one of the largest energy users in California and is a massive generator of GHG emissions. The FPIP assists food producers to meet the costs of replacing energy-draining processing equipment and systems with advanced energy-efficient technologies. The program also aims to accelerate the adoption of these efficient technologies that can substantially reduce energy use and costs and associated GHG emissions, perhaps as a model even beyond food production facilities.

Funding comes through a competitive award process from the California Climate Investments program, a statewide initiative that uses cap-and-trade dollars to help reduce GHG emissions, strengthen the economy, and improve public health and the environment.

Funding for the FPIP program is divided into two categorical tiers:

Tier I: Drop-In Energy Technologies

• Commercially available, energy efficient equipment upgrades that are drop-in replacements or additions to existing equipment or processes that provide greater GHG emission reductions than current best practices or industry standard equipment.

• Examples of Tier I project topics:

  • evaporators

  • mechanical dewatering

  • boilers

  • economizers

  • waste heat to power

Tier II: Emerging Energy Technologies

• Technologies that are emerging and not widely used in California but have been proven elsewhere to reduce GHG emissions.

• Examples of Tier II project topics:

  • solar thermal

  • renewable energy generation

  • microgrids

  • fuel switching

As of May 2019, 26 out of 28 project sites are benefiting a disadvantaged and/or low-income community. 19 projects focus on a single site implementation, with 2 projects hosting multiple site implementation. Project distribution across the state is 67% based in the Central Valley, 21% in Southern California, and 10% in Northern California.

Read about ongoing project case studies from the California Energy Commission beginning on slide 27 here.

Evaluation & Scoring

Applications are evaluated based on:

Am I Eligible?

To be eligible for funding, projects must meet all of the following requirements:

• Applicant must be a food processing facility located in California.

  • Food processing facilities are those defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes:

    • 311 (Food Manufacturing)

    • 3121 (Beverage Manufacturing)

• Proposed projects must reduce GHG emissions as defined in the grant solicitation.

• Applicant must meet all eligibility and other criteria specified in the solicitation.

Additional requirements for Tier I and II projects:

• Tier I projects must reduce GHG emissions and result in higher efficiency than current industry standards or best practices.

• Tier II projects must reduce GHG emissions, be proven elsewhere to reduce GHG emissions, be cutting-edge and emerging technology, and not be drop-in ready replacements for existing equipment.

How Do I Apply?

UPDATE (11/13/19): The deadline to submit applications for Round 1 solicitation GFO-19-901 has been extended!

• Deadline to Submit Application - Phase 1: December 4, 2019.

• Deadline to Submit Application - Phase 2: February 28, 2020.

All application materials can be found at the bottom of the California Energy Commission’s GFO-19-901 - Food Production Investment Program 2019 webpage.

KERAMIDA is Here to Help

If you are interested in learning more about FPIP or how we can assist your business during the FPIP award application process, please contact us or call us today at (800) 508-8034.

Contact:

Becky Twohey, Ph.D.
Vice President, ESG Strategy, Planning and Reporting
KERAMIDA Inc.

Contact Becky at btwohey@keramida.com