Building decarbonization grants for local governments

Are you a local government that owns an older, drafty building in need of energy-saving improvements or air conditioning? King County is administering a grant program for local governments to install high efficiency electric heat pump heating and cooling systems and weatherization in one or more of their existing buildings that serve as community gathering spaces or provide community services (libraries, community centers, skills training locations, school buildings, etc.). These types of improvements can lower energy costs and reduce GHG emissions from buildings, while improving indoor air quality and climate resilience.

• $7 million program budget
• Max amount per grant is $300,00-$500,000, depending on whether the buildings are located in and/or serving frontline communities.
• Grants cover up to 30-50% of project costs, depending on whether the buildings are located in and/or serving frontline communities. 
• Target of ~14 grants across the four-county region 

The Letter of Interest (LOI) process begins November 10, 2025 and closes January 12, 2026. Local governments who would like to have the opportunity to apply for and be considered for this grant must complete an LOI form.

Complete the form here.

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Applicant Eligibility

• Local governments in King, Kitsap, Pierce, or Snohomish Counties. 
• Governments and buildings must be located in King, Kitsap, Pierce, or Snohomish Counties.
• Buildings must be owned by the applying governmental entity (however, they may have tenants).
• Buildings must serve as community gathering spaces or offer in-person, onsite community services directly from the building.

Eligible Projects and Activities

This funding opportunity is limited to projects that consist of upgrades to existing buildings, specifically any combination of the following activities:

• Weatherization, (air sealing, insulation, ventilation, etc.)
• Installation of electric heat pumps
• Minor electrical upgrades needed to support the project.

The grant does not fund window replacement, replacement of knob and tube wiring, installation of electric appliances or systems other than heat pumps, or any other activities or programs not listed in “eligible activities”. This grant does not fund planning activities such as energy audits or other decarbonization planning exercises. (Pre-application technical assistance will be available on a limited basis to support planning activities—building energy audits, project planning, etc.—for low-capacity, high-need local governments.)

Note: While not an eligibility requirement, this program prioritizes buildings that are located in and/or serve frontline communities.

Please see the searchable map showing frontline community geographies for this program at the bottom of this page.

Eligible Costs

King County anticipates providing funds through cost-reimbursement subawards to successful applicants. Project budgets will be limited to necessary direct and indirect costs of each applicant project, and expenditures must conform to the cost principles in Uniform Grant Guidance 2 CFR 200 Subpart E.

Funding & Cost Share

This program anticipates awarding a total of ~$7 million in grant funding across the 4-county region.

• Grants will cover up to 30-50% of budgeted project costs, with a maximum grant award of $300,000-$500,000 depending on whether buildings are located in and/or serve frontline communities.
• King County will issue a “Notice of Intent to Award” to successful applicants prior to execution of a subaward agreement.
• Successful applicants will be expected to secure funds to cover the remainder of their budgeted project costs. Such matching funds can be from local government budgets, state/local/federal grants, private funds, etc. so long as they are in accordance with 2 CFR 200.306.
• Local governments may apply to the grant program BEFORE securing funds to cover the remainder of their budgeted project costs.
• Costs incurred prior to securing funds and executing a subaward agreement (pre-award costs) may not be charged to the grant.
• It’s anticipated that grant selectees will have up to one year — between grant selection and grant award — to secure funds to cover the remainder of their budgeted project costs.
• Given the small number of grants, and need for geographic equity, it’s unlikely that a jurisdiction will receive more than one grant. In rare cases, a jurisdiction may receive more than one grant. 

Anticipated Timeline

• November 10, 2025 – Letter of Interest process opens
• January 12, 2026 – Letter of Interest process closes
• January 20 – March 30, 2026 – Full applications accepted
• June 2026 – Grant selectees informed
• July 2027 – Anticipated deadline for selectees to secure funds to cover the remainder of their project costs. Selectees are welcome to secure those funds earlier.
• Grants will be awarded once a selectee has secured funds to cover the remainder of their project costs.
• All projects must be completed no later than Spring 2029. Grantees are welcome to finish projects earlier.

Note: King County reserves the right to deviate from this timeline or structure as needed.

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Full application process

• Only those who submit an LOI form and are invited to apply may submit a full application for this grant.
• Local governments may apply for funds to support decarbonization in one building, or a portfolio of buildings. If submitting an application for a portfolio of buildings, the requested grant amount must be less than or equal to $300,000-$500,000 depending on whether the buildings are located in and/or serving frontline communities.
• The full application (opening January 20) will include the following:
  • Confirmation of building information shared in the LOI form (location, age, heating/cooling systems, history of major renovations and upgrades, etc.)
  • Detailed Project description
  • Detailed budget (including an engineer’s estimate or contractor’s estimate) and budget narrative describing how costs were calculated or estimated
  • Detailed project workplan
  • Description of the community/ies that the building(s) serves and/or the services the building(s) provides.
• Applicants do not need to have already secured funding to cover the remainder of their project costs. If selected for the grant, there will be an opportunity to secure those funds before being awarded the grant.
• Pre-application technical assistance will be available on a limited basis for local governments with high need and low capacity. Entities may request pre-application technical assistance during the LOI process.

Alignment with Federal Grant Requirements

King County anticipates issuing funds via subaward to successful local government applicants. Grant awardees (subrecipients) will need to comply with the following federal funding requirements:

• 2 CFR Part 200, U.S. EPA Subaward Policy, and EPA Subaward Cross Cutter Requirements.
• Davis Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA)
• Build America Buy America

Communications

If you have questions about this grant, please email CPRG@kingcounty.gov and be sure to include “Local Govt Grant” in the subject line.

King County intends to post answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on this website on Fridays, with the last FAQ update during the LOI process planned to post on January 9, 2026. All questions related to the LOI process must be received by January 5, 2026 at 11:59pm PT.

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FAQ – Building Decarbonization Grant for Local Governments

Updated: January 9, 2026

Is the slide deck from the Info Sessions available?

Yes – view the slide deck.

If a project includes window replacement, should that part just be excluded from the grant application?

Funding awarded through the Building Decarbonization Grant for Local Governments may only be spent on eligible activities . Window replacements are an ineligible grant activity. Please see “Eligible Projects & Activities” section above for additional information on eligible activities.

If grant funding is being sought for a specific part (e.g., weatherization and heat pump installation) of a larger project (e.g., more extensive upgrades to the existing building), this may be approached in one of two ways in the Letter of Interest form:

• The submitted form is ONLY for eligible activities.
• The submitted form describes the broader project, but eligible activities are explicitly addressed in the budget, project description, and other relevant parts of the Letter of Interest form. Funding and cost estimates for eligible grant activities should be shown as distinct from ineligible grant activities.

Funding through this grant will not be awarded to cover any part of the costs of ineligible projects or activities. Similarly, the required future cost-share must be secured for grant-eligible activities.

Ventilation is included in the Weatherization, so Energy Recovery Ventilators are eligible, yes?

Yes. Please be sure to clearly describe in your  Letter of Interest form how the Energy Recovery Ventilators are related to the HVAC system and/or planned weatherization activities.

What will grant selectees need to do to document that they have secured cost share funding? And what is the latest date to secure matching funding?

• Local governments may submit a Letter of Interest form WITHOUT having already secured cost funding.
• If invited to submit a full grant application, the entity may submit the full grant application WITHOUT having already secured cost share funding.
• If, after review of the full grant application, King County issues a “Notice of Intent to Award” to the entity, then the entity will need to secure cost share funding.
• From the “Notice of Intent to Award” notification date (anticipated to be June 2026), the entity will have until end of September 2027 to secure cost share funding.
• Once the entity has secured cost share funding, it will need to need share with King County program staff written documentation of the funding, including source, date of availability, confirmation from the source, and any other relevant official documentation. The type of documentation provided will vary by funding source; examples of adequate documentation are a signed grant contract with an external funder, an adopted budget or budget amendment with cost share provided by the entity government, etc.

If cost share funds are secured via funding from a separate grant (e.g., a state, federal, or granting body), does that separate grant have to be fully awarded and under contract, or is selected or awarded but not yet under contract sufficient?

If cost share funds are secured via funding from a separate grant, the grant must be awarded and contract executed in order for it to be considered as cost share funds for the Building Decarbonization Grant for Local Governments.

What type of support is King County providing to help local governments align with Federal grant requirements? Are there any Federal grant requirements that are out of the ordinary for recipients of the Building Decarbonization Grant for Local Governments?

King County program staff recognizes the challenges that Federal grant requirements can present for local governments and intends to support local governments in aligning with those requirements. It’s anticipated that there will be grant recipient workshops and office hours with county staff or county-funded consultants to troubleshoot and resolve any related issues that arise. Program staff are in the process of developing this support and aim to share further detail prior to award and contract.

In the “Eligible Projects and Activities” section of the website, minor electrical upgrades to support the project are includes. Does this include service or main distribution panel upgrades?

Service or main distribution panel upgrades may be considered “minor electrical upgrades” for the purposes of this grant.

Are hot water heater replacements eligible projects?

Hot water heater replacements or upgrades, are not eligible projects or activities for funding from this grant, unless they are part of an existing space heating system or integral to a proposed heat pump space heating system.

Is changing out old heat pumps for new heat pumps an eligible project for this grant?

Yes, installation of new heat pumps, replacing old heat pumps is an eligible project. However, applications will be scored and prioritized based on GHG emission reduction potential, so swapping fossil fuel heating systems for electric heat pumps will score higher than replacing existing electric heat pumps with new ones.

Are HVAC Heat pumps eligible?

Yes.

Does the grant cover roofing replacement and repairs under the umbrella of weatherization?

Roofing repairs that are targeted, limited in scope, and directly relate to and support weatherization efforts (e.g., fixing a minor leak over increased insulation) would be eligible project elements; however, this grant is not designed to cover full roof replacements.

Would a municipal airport that, in addition to its primary functions, offers spaces that can be used for community events qualify as an eligible location under the grant?

A government-owned building that provides community gathering space is an eligible project site for this grant. Please refer to the program website for a description of eligible entities and project sites. However, note that a portion of the application score will be related to the extent to which a building serves as a community gathering space and/or offers onsite in-person community services. As such, a building whose primary function is not community-oriented may receive a lower score.

Should I submit an LOI for each building or complete the “Building Information Spreadsheet” with information on multiple buildings and submit a single LOI?

If the total requested grant amount for all buildings (combined) is less than $300,000-$500,000—depending on whether the buildings are located in and/or serve frontline communities—then you can submit one LOI form for the broad “portfolio” of buildings and use the Building Information spreadsheet to provide details on individual buildings.

If the total requested grant amount would be greater than $300,000-$500,000, then you’d submit one LOI form for each building.

Please see the “Letter of Interest Process” section above for additional information.

Can a school district apply for this grant?

Yes. For the purposes of this grant, “local government” is defined as any of the following:

• Counties, cities, towns, townships, and villages
• Special-purpose districts (e.g., school districts, water districts, sanitation districts) or quasi-governmental or public authorities, such as housing or transit authorities
• Regional planning councils or similar entities, if they are established by state statute or local ordinance and can provide legal documentation of their status
• Federally recognized tribal governments, when acting in a local governance capacity

Can a housing authority apply for this grant?

Yes. For the purposes of this grant, “local government” is defined as any of the following:

• Counties, cities, towns, townships, and villages
• Special-purpose districts (e.g., school districts, water districts, sanitation districts) or quasi-governmental or public authorities, such as housing or transit authorities
• Regional planning councils or similar entities, if they are established by state statute or local ordinance and can provide legal documentation of their status
• Federally recognized tribal governments, when acting in a local governance capacity

Can a local government submit more than one LOI form?

Yes, a local government can submit multiple LOI forms, for multiple projects.

Do I need to submit a formal Letter of Interest in addition to the Letter of Interest Form?

No. King County is asking for a Letter of Interest Form in lieu of a formal letter of interest. Please DO NOT submit a formal letter of interest. Only the Letter of Interest Form, submitted through JotForm, will be reviewed.

Is pre-application technical assistance available to support local governments in putting together an application for this grant? If so, what does this support look like?

Pre-application technical assistance to support development of a full application will be available on a limited basis for low-capacity, high-need local governments.
Pre-application technical assistance is ONLY available for the full grant application, NOT the Letter of Interest Form.
To request pre-application technical assistance, please complete a Letter of Interest Form and indicate your request in the relevant section. If invited to submit a full grant application, applicant will also receive information on next steps for pre-application technical assistance.

Pre-application technical assistance—support in putting together a full application—may include any of the following, based on the need of the applicant:

• Creation of building-specific decarbonization plans (energy audit, etc.)
• Project budget
• Workplan development
• Engineering support (where needed)

Can a Building Decarbonization Grant for Local Governments be used to cover costs of projects at more than one facility?

Yes. Eligible entities are welcome to submit a Letter of Interest Form for a single building OR multiple buildings (a portfolio of buildings). The retrofit projects at each building in a portfolio can be different from one another or the same; however, all aspects of all projects at all buildings must be eligible projects and activities. Please refer to the program website for a description of eligible projects and activities for this grant.

If submitting for multiple buildings (i.e., a portfolio of buildings), please only submit ONE Letter of Interest form representing the portfolio of buildings. You do not need to submit separate forms for individual buildings in the portfolio.

Additionally, please note that if submitting an LOI for a portfolio of buildings, the total requested grant amount must be less than or equal to $300,000-$500,000 depending on whether the buildings are located in and/or serving frontline communities.

Is __[fill in the blank]___ type of building eligible?

Please refer to the program website for a description of eligible entities and project sites.

Do you anticipate any issues with ongoing funding from U.S. EPA as a prime grantee?

We do not anticipate any issues with ongoing funding from the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant from the U.S. EPA.

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