June 10, 2021

Wyden, Merkley: More Than $800,000 to go to Oregon Small Businesses Developing Novel Clean Energy and Climate Solutions

Four clean energy projects across Oregon will innovate new technologies to create good-paying jobs

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that four Oregon companies will receive critical seed funding totaling more than $800,000 from the Department of Energy to pursue projects in clean energy technologies and climate solutions.

"Small businesses are the lifeblood of Oregon's economy, supporting jobs in our communities and tackling the big challenges faced by our nation," Wyden said. “As the climate emergency persists, I'm happy to see the Department of Energy investing in small businesses that will help kick America's carbon habit and move us toward a clean energy future.”

“Climate chaos is the biggest existential threat of our time,” Merkley said. “We can’t bury our heads in the sand and give up—we have to unleash the power of American ingenuity to develop the kinds of cutting-edge technologies that fighting this crisis requires. I’m pleased that this funding is headed to four Oregon businesses that are making invaluable contributions to that effort, and will continue to do all that I can to secure the resources we need to transition toward a clean energy future.”  

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will award $54 million in critical seed funding to 235 small businesses, across 42 states, for projects that are developing and deploying proof-of-concept prototypes for a wide range of technological solutions needed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. This diverse class of awardees is designing novel solutions to our greatest energy needs around advanced grid technologies, solar and hydrogen power, carbon capture and storage, artificial intelligence, electric vehicle batteries and more. 

Oregon companies receiving funds are as follows:

  • Community Energy Labs LLC, Portland: $206,230 - a scalable, autonomous clean building control platform that allows small to mid-sized commercial building owners to simply and affordably meet their energy efficiency goals.
  • Burch Energy Services LLC, Lafayette: $199,983 – an indoor air quality assessment technology that integrates national, local, and building data, assess health risks to the building occupants, and performs automated mitigation tactics using the building's ventilation system.
  • RUTE Foundations Systems, Portland: $199,999 – A dual land use plan to increase revenue for farmland and rural America that will allow farmers and ranchers to use land for both agriculture and generation of solar power.
  • AQUAHARMONICS INC, West Linn: $199,884 - A wave energy powered instrumentation buoy will allow for high resolution, real-time data streams from remote ocean locations and will improve the United States’ ability to mitigate risks associated with natural disasters, weather forecasting, climate change monitoring, key fishery monitoring, as well as a host of national defense concerns.

For more information about the projects, click here.