The Rural Energy Startup Program (RESP) is funded by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) and supports communities taking initial steps to reduce energy use, reduce fossil fuel emissions, and improve energy efficiency.  

To be eligible, applicants must be a unit of local government (city, village, town, county) that was not eligible to receive a direct allocation from Department of Energy (DOE).

Rural municipal zip codes are identified as those within “any area of a State not in a city or town that has a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants, not in the urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to a city or town that has a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants, and excluding certain populations pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(H) and (I).” OEI has aligned its definition of rural with that use in USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program and the Focus on Energy program’s rural bonus incentives.

Rural counties are identified by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) using census data to establish a range of rural and urban classifications known as Rural-Urban Continuum (RUC) codes, with RUC of 4 to 9 considered rural. USDA’s Economic Research Service presents this information visually for Wisconsin by county.

To be given priority, applicants must be within a Disadvantaged Community or have a DAC located within the planned project area.