This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP). The intent of this RFI is to obtain public input regarding the solicitation process and structure of a DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to fund Sec. 40552, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECGB) Competitive Program, which aims to support units of local government including Indian Tribes ineligible for direct formula grants from DOE under the EECGB program to lower fossil fuel emissions and energy use in their jurisdictions, in accordance with the Program’s authorizing legislation, Title V, Subtitle E of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
Through section 40552 (b) of the BIL, Congress authorized $550 million for the EECBG Program. This program supports the Biden Administration’s goal to achieve a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and a net zero emissions economy by 2050. The purpose of EECBG is to assist eligible entities in implementing strategies to:
- reduce fossil fuel emissions created as a result of activities within the jurisdictions of eligible entities
- reduce the total energy use of the eligible entitiesimprove energy efficiency in the transportation, building, and other appropriate sectors
While 98% of EECBG BIL funds will be allocated to eligible jurisdictions through a formula allocation per statutory direction, approximately 2% or $8 million are directed to be provided through a competitive process for:
- Units of local government (including Indian tribes) that are not eligible for a formula allocation based on population
- a consortium of local governments.
By statute, priority shall be given to units of government located in states with populations of less than 2,000,000 or to those that plan to carry out projects that would result in significant energy efficiency improvements or reductions in fossil fuel use.
Specifically, this RFI seeks input on:
- Potential partnership structures and models to achieve the goals of the provision and leverage the financial investment for deeper impact
- Technical assistance needs of applicants and their stakeholders and partnersProgram criteria and metrics
- Opportunities to reduce administrative burden on award recipients while protecting against waste, fraud, and abuse
- Employment and expanding union jobs
- Equity, environmental and energy justice priorities
- Market adoption and industry sustainability
- Build America, Buy America requirements
DOE aims to facilitate substantial additional investment, prioritize communities with high needs, minimize administrative burden, and build enduring capacity in jurisdictions to maximize impact equitably and efficiently. Information collected from this RFI will be used by DOE for planning purposes to develop the EECBG Competitive Program FOA. The information collected will not be published.
Please see the full RFI document in the Documents section below
Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to EECBG_RFI_Competitive@hq.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on January 13, 2023. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (.docx), text document or PDF attachment to the email, and no more than 10 pages in length, 12-point font, 1-inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.
For ease of replying and to aid categorization of your responses, please copy and paste the RFI questions, including the question numbering, and use them as a template for your response. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions as they wish.
SCEP will not respond to individual submissions. A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed.
Respondents are requested to provide the following information at the start of their response to this RFI:
Company / institution name Company / institution contact Contact's address, phone number, and e-mail address.