Recent and expected federal funding activity
The federal government issues a variety of announcements related to federal funding opportunities:? Requests for Information (RFI); Notices of Intent (NOI); and Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA). More information can be found on the Commerce IIJA web page or by clicking the links below.
In order to facilitate the review of this lengthy issue of the newsletter, the subject matter of included items is recapped here; full details can be found in the body of the newsletter.?
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Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA)
- 40541 Renew America's Schools
- 40511 Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation
- 40308 Regional Direct Air Capture
- Non-IIJA Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage
- Non-IIJA Decarbonization of Water Resource Recovery Facilities
- Non-IIJA BENEFIT Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovation Technologies
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Notices of Intent (NOI)
- 40302?Carbon Utilization Procurement Grants
- Non-IIJA?Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program, (MSIPP) Community and Junior College Trade Occupation Program (CICTOP)
- Onsite Energy Technical Assistance?Partnerships
- Non-IIJA Increasing Utilization and Reliability of Electric Infrastructure with Grid Enhancing Technologies
- Underserved and Indigenous Community Microgrids
- Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office-Wide Funding Opportunity?in Support of Hydrogen Shot
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Requests For Information (RFI)
- 40552(b) Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (Competitive?portion of the program)?
- IIJA 40503, 40513 & IRA 50123 Preparing Workers and Businesses to Deliver Energy Efficiency and Building Electrification Measures
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Resources
- Public Roundtable -- The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA): Residential Energy Rebates and Contractor Training Programs
- Free Training Workshop: Nationwide Initiative to Accelerate Energy Upgrades for Affordable Housing
- 2023 Tribal Energy Webinar Series:?Federal Funding for Tribes
- U.S. Department of Energy Launches New Website on Inflation Reduction Act Home Rebates
- Fact Sheets for Local Governments
- Grant-seeking registration information
-- IIJA Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA):
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40541 Renew America's Schools
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) has issued a FOA to fund energy improvements at public K-12 school facilities under a funding opportunity called Renew America's Schools.? The DOE seeks to fund projects that are replicable and scalable, innovative, partnership-driven, inclusive of leveraged funding and possessing economies of scale, target disadvantaged communities, improve occupant health, enrich learning and growth, offer quick completion and target schools that serve as community assets.? Successful projects under this FOA will?maximize the benefits of the clean energy transition by focusing on high-impact energy efficiency and health improvements through innovative energy technology packages, and innovative energy technology packages.? Projects should fall into one of the topic areas below:?
? Topic Area 1 ? High-Impact Energy Efficiency and Health Improvements:? proposals will include energy improvements that result in direct reduction to school energy costs, increase energy efficiency, and lead to improvements in teacher and student health, including indoor air quality. Projects can be repairs, renovations, or installations to the facility envelope, air conditioning system, ventilation system, heating system, hot water heating system, and/or controls of a building. Applicants are encouraged to package multiple improvements for deeper savings and carbon reductions.
? Topic Area 2 ? Innovative Energy Technology Package:?Applicants are encouraged to develop projects that incorporate one or more of the following:
o Energy Efficiency Measures
o Installation of renewable energy technologies
o Alternative fueled vehicle infrastructure on school grounds
o Purchase or lease of alternative fueled vehicles to be used by a school
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40511 Resilient and Efficient Building Codes Implementation
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) has issued a FOA to enable sustained, cost-effective implementation of updated building energy codes to save customers money on their energy bills.? Modern building energy codes are a critical strategy to lower energy bills for American homes and businesses, reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions associated with the operation of residential and commercial buildings, and enhance resilience in the built environment. The funding under this section will enable sustained cost-effective implementation of updated building codes.
Six Key Areas of Interest:
1. State and Local Code Adoption 2. Workforce Development 3. Implementation and Compliance 4. Innovative Approaches 5. Equity, Energy and Environmental Justice 6. Partnerships
NOTE: Section 50131 of the IRA, titled Assistance for Latest and Zero Building Energy Code Adoption, (not yet released) provides an additional $1 billion in grants supporting adoption and implementation of the latest model energy codes and zero energy codes, or equivalent. This assistance is applicable to states and units of local government with authority to adopt the latest building energy codes or zero energy code policies.
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40308?Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) is releasing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to solicit initial development phases for four Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs *DAC Hubs) to accelerate commercialization of, and demonstrate the processing, transports, secure geologic storage, and/or conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from the atmosphere. Up to $1.236 billion of funding will be available for conceptualizing, designing, planning, constructing, and operating the DAC Hubs, with additional funding opportunities expected to follow in the coming years. This FOA offers potential Applicants three different options for seeking DAC Hub funding:
? Topic Area One (TA-1) is designed to support earlier-stage efforts to explore the feasibility of a potential DAC Hub?s location, ownership structure, business model, CO2 storage/utilization option(s), and technology partner(s) during Phase 0.
? Topic Area Two (TA-2) is designed for DAC Hub projects ready to pursue a front-end engineering design (FEED) study for a Hub?s initial capture capacity and supporting infrastructure during Phase 1.
? Topic Area Three (TA-3) is designed for DAC Hub projects that have already completed a FEED study and are seeking support for project development for a potential Hub.
-- Non-IIJA Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA)
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Regional Initiative to Accelerate Carbon Capture,?Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Deployment: Technical?Assistance for Large-Scale Storage Facilities and Regional?Carbon Management Hubs
The DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) is soliciting projects to expand Regional Initiatives (RI) to Accelerate CCUS Deployments.? RI projects have a common overall?objective ? to identify and address the challenges facing commercial
deployment of carbon capture, transport, and storage in a specific region?of the United States (U.S.) The Regional Initiative effort also supports?FECM goals by 1) providing states and stakeholders with technical?information that underpins policy decisions; 2) assisting project developers?with the management of pore space and property rights; and 3) identifying?the data needs for the completion of the Underground Injection Control
(UIC) Class Six (VI) permitting process.??Two Areas of Interest are covered by this funding opportunity:
Area of Interest 1 (AOI 1) - Technical Assistance and Public?Engagement for Geologic CO2 Storage and Transport at Large Scale?Storage Facilities or within Prospective Regional CM Hubs
Area of Interest 2 (AOI 2)- State Geological Data Gathering, Analysis,?Sharing, and Engagement
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) has released a FOA to support decarbonization of the industrial sector, which is responsible for 30% of all energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.?Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs), which treat wastewater from public water systems, are estimated to be directly and indirectly responsible for over 44 million metric tons (MMT) of greenhouse gas emissions each year. This FOA will advance research and development to decarbonize our nation?s water treatment sector.??
The FOA includes two topic areas:? 1) Decarbonization of WRRF Unit Processes; 2) Reduction overall GHG emissions from WRRFs.?
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BENEFIT Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovation Technologies
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), on behalf of the Building Technologies office, has released a FOA for research and development of high-impact, cost-effective technologies and practices to reduce carbon emissions, improve flexibility and resilience, and lower energy costs of buildings.?$15.35 million to $45.2 million in funding will be available, to support projects in five topic areas:
Topic 1: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning and Water Heating: Technologies with improved materials, components, equipment design and engineering, lower cost manufacturing processes, and easier installation.
Topic 2: Thermal Energy Storage (TES): Development and validation of next generation plug-and-play TES products with improved cost and performance and ease of installation to accelerate adoption of TES in HVAC applications.
Topic 3: Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS): Development, validation, and demonstration of product innovations that reduce the cost of BESS integration, improve the coordination between distributed BESS and the electrical grid, as well as help meet building decarbonization targets.
Topic 4: Plug Loads/Lighting: Integration of plug load controls with connected lighting systems in commercial buildings with minimal cost and complexity to support building electrification.
Topic 5: Opaque Building Envelope: Development, validation, and demonstration of high-impact, affordable. opaque building envelope retrofit and diagnostic technologies.
-- IIJA Notice of Intent (NOI)
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40302?Carbon Utilization Procurement Grants
- DE-FOA-0002895
- Subsequent?FOA DE-FOA-2829 anticipated?1Q23 (if issued)?
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) has released a NOI regarding the Carbon Utilization Procurement Grants Program. The CUPG, if issued, will provide up to $100 million in grants to states, local governments, and public utilities to support the commercialization of technologies that reduce carbon emissions while also procuring and using commercial or industrial products developed from captured carbon emissions.?
This FOA contains a single area of interest (AOI) titled ?Demonstration Grants Supporting the Procurement and Use of Carbon Conversion Products Derived from Anthropogenic Carbon Oxides.? These demonstration?grants will require a minimum of 50% non-federal cost share and will be awarded to anticipated ?eligible?entities? (States, units of local governments, and public utilities or agencies). These demonstration grants?will support ?eligible entities? who procure and use commercial or industrial products that are derived from?anthropogenic carbon oxides and demonstrate significant net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as?compared to incumbent products.
Recorded webinars held by the U.S. Energy Association? regarding this funding opportunity can be found here and here.
-- Non-IIJA Notice of Intent (NOI)
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Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program, (MSIPP) Community and Junior College Trade Occupation Program (CICTOP)
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Informational Webinars: January 10, January 31, February 7, 2023
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Full Application Due Date:?February 17, 2023, 10:59 pm CST
- DE-FOA-0002898
The Department of Energy?s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has a vital national security mission to protect the American people by maintaining a safe, secure, and effective?nuclear weapons stockpile. NNSA works with educational institutions and industry partners from across the Nuclear Security?Enterprise (NSE) to achieve this mission priority through three major pathways: collaborative?research; capacity building/pipeline development; and recruitment, retention, and development of a?world class workforce.?The scope of this funding opportunity is to encourage grant applications from Minority Serving and?Tribal Community and Junior Colleges to diversify student and faculty populations, enhancing?training programs in the disciplines outlined below and increase the capacity of the NSE workforce. Disciplines of interest include (but are not limited to) Administration, Assemblers, Chemists, Computer Scientists, Construction Workers, Electricians, Engineers, Information Technology/Cybersecurity, Iron Workers, Laborers, Machinists, Mechanics, Pipefitters, Platers, Specialists, Technicians, Tool Makers, Welders, and Wireman.
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Onsite Energy Technical Assistance?Partnerships? ? ??? ?
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) intends to issued the FOA for "Onsite Energy Technical Assistance Partnerships" in January 2023.??The goal of the FOA will be to fund the development and operations of the Onsite Energy TAP?Program. Regional?Onsite Energy TAPs will replace the existing CHP TAPs with an expanded mission space.? The Onsite Energy TAP Program will operate by providing direct technical services to assist end users and other stakeholders with identifying technology options for achieving clean energy
objectives. Technical services can range from initial site screenings to more advanced analysis?to support project installations. The Onsite Energy TAPs will also engage with policymakers,?utilities, and other key stakeholders to accelerate pathways for integration of onsite energy?technologies. It is anticipated up to 10 Regional Onsite Energy TAP's, and 1 National Onsite Energy TAP will be funded.
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Increasing Utilization and Reliability of Electric Infrastructure with Grid Enhancing Technologies
- DE-FOA-0002947
- FOA issuance will be DE-FOA-002948, anticipated to be issued in February 2023
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) intends to issued the FOA to support further development of Grid Enhancing Technologies (GET) in February 2023.??The objective of this potential FOA would be to address the findings of the 2022 DOE Report??Grid Enhancing Technologies: A Case Study on Ratepayer Impact?. Specifically, the FOA would?aim to fill gaps in information on the real-world benefits and usage of GETs through at-scale?field demonstrations. The impact of GETs technologies like Dynamic Line Rating (DLR) and?Power Flow Controllers (PFC) is highly location-dependent, and so demonstrations across a?variety of systems differing in scale, geography, and topology would be useful in determining?important aspects for the location specific impact of GETs.?DOE is primarily interested in demonstration of the capabilities of DLC and PFC, however,?applications for demonstrations of other GETs technologies will likely not be excluded.?DOE is primarily interested in demonstrations conducted on transmission systems, however,?projects that include both transmission and distribution GETs, and explore coordinated?planning and operation across these boundaries, are encouraged.
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Underserved and Indigenous Community Microgrids
The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy?s (DOE) National Energy Technology?Laboratory (NETL) intends to issue, on behalf of the DOE Office of Electricity (OE), a?Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled ?Underserved and Indigenous
Community Microgrids.? If issued, up to $9.1 million will be available for cost-shared research,?development and demonstration (RD&D) project(s) to develop and implement replicable microgrid solutions for underserved and?Indigenous communities in remote and?islanded regions throughout the United States.?To achieve intended objectives, each microgrid solution proposed under this FOA should?range from 100 kilowatts (kW) to 10 megawatts (MW) of aggregated generation capacity;?and support improving the metrics of reliability, resilience, decarbonization, and?affordability.? ?The FOA is expected to included three areas of interest:
Area of Interest 1 (AOI 1): Modular Microgrid Systems with Standardized?Control/ Communication Functionalities for a Range of System Sizes and?Renewable Contributions
Area of Interest 2 (AOI 2): Multi-port Medium Voltage DC (MVDC) Converter?Research and Development (R&D) for Integration of Microgrids and Clean?Energy
Area of Interest 3 (AOI 3): Regional Initiatives to Support Microgrid?Deployments within Underserved and Indigenous Communities.
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Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office-Wide Funding Opportunity?in Support of Hydrogen Shot
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced a notice of intent for potential funding to accelerate the research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of affordable clean-hydrogen technologies. The funding covered by this FOA would reduce the cost and improve the performance of technologies for hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cells, advancing the Hydrogen Shot goal of reducing the cost of clean hydrogen to $1 per 1 kilogram in 1 decade (?1 1 1?). It will also support the Biden Administration?s broader climate goals of achieving carbon-free electricity by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions across the entire economy by 2050.
Potential topic areas include:?
Area of Interest 1 : Modular Microgrid Systems with Standardized?Control/ Communication Functionalities for a Range of System Sizes and?Renewable Contributions;
Area of Interest 2:?Multi-port Medium Voltage DC (MVDC) Converter?Research and Development (R&D) for Integration of Microgrids and Clean?Energy;
Area of Interest 3:?Liquid Hydrogen Transfer/Fueling Components and Systems, to develop liquid hydrogen transfer and vehicular fueling technologies and processes to enable high-flow liquid hydrogen transfers and/or liquid hydrogen fueling of MD and HD vehicles; and,
Area of Interest 4: Hydrogen Carrier Development:?to develop novel hydrogen carriers and/or catalysts that offer cost and performance advantages over conventional compressed gas or liquid hydrogen (LH2) systems.
--?IIJA Requests for Information (RFI):
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40552(b) Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (Competitive?portion of the program)?
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) has issued a RFI? to seek public input regarding the solicitation process and structure of the FOA for Section 40552, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECGB) Competitive Program.? 98% of EECBG BIL funds will be allocated to eligible jurisdictions through a formula allocation with approximately 2% or $8 million directed to be held for a competitive process, with those units of local government and Tribal Governments who? are ineligible for direct formula grants under the EECBGB program.?
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IIJA 40503, 40513 & IRA 50123 Preparing Workers and Businesses to Deliver Energy Efficiency and Building Electrification Measures
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) has issued a RFI? to seek public input around three upcoming federal funding opportunities related to workforce development and training.? Public input is being sought to help the DOE develop the funding opportunities.??Public input is sought prior to development of solicitation process and structure for FOAs around IIJA 40503 Energy Auditor Training Program (EAT), IIJA 40513 Career Skills Training Program (CST) and IRA 50123 State-Based Home Energy Efficiency Contractor Training Program.
?A study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) states the number of workers in renewable energy and energy efficiency will double by 2025 and triple by 2030. The implementation of the EAT, CST, and Contractor Training Programs aims to support the development of a more equitable energy efficiency and residential buildings-focused electrification workforce through the creation of good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union, the incorporation of strong labor standards, and high-road workforce development, especially sector-based training, Registered Apprenticeship, and quality pre-apprenticeship.
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