Clean Energy Infrastructure Funding Opportunity Announcements

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 authorized the Secretary of Energy to establish a fund with the stated purpose of providing competitive grants to federal agencies to assist them in meeting the energy and water conservation requirements in Section 543 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. § 8253). Through this authority, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) created the Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) program to provide funding to federal agencies for the development of energy and water saving technologies and to meet federal mandates. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 8256 (b)(3), FEMP will make selections and awards under this Federal Agency Call (FAC) through a competitive process, with agency applications evaluated against the Technical Review Criteria set forth in Sections V.A and V.B.

Section 40554 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy to provide grants authorized under section 42 U.S.C. § 8256 (b), $250 million for fiscal year 2022, to remain available until expended. FEMP intends to award the $250 million authorized under BIL through this AFFECT BIL FAC.

FEMP is seeking to make awards that support achievement of the Administration’s goals for federal leadership as described in Section 543 of NECPA, as amended through the Energy Act of 2020 (EA2020) and codified in 42 U.S.C. § 8253, Executive Order (E.O.) 14057, Catalyzing America’s Clean Energy Economy Through Federal Sustainability and E.O. 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.

This AFFECT BIL FAC seeks applications from federal agencies for projects that will create individual showcase facilities and/or multi-site deployment projects that contribute to a net-zero building portfolio. These showcase facilities and multi-site deployment projects will serve as models for future replicability and/or scalability to develop and continue a long-term net-zero building strategy. Applications are sought from federal agencies that are in alignment with the three Topic Areas:

Topic Area 1: Assistance with Net-Zero Buildings Opportunity Development

Topic Area 2: Modify Existing Projects for Net-Zero Buildings

Topic Area 3: New/In Development Net-Zero Buildings Projects

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Please see the full text for the Federal Agency Call (FAC) in the DOCUMENTS section below.

Questions regarding the FAC must be submitted to AFFECTBIL@hq.doe.gov

Answers to the questions will be posted to an excel spreadsheet found in the DOCUMENTS section below.

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Submission Deadlines:

The hydroelectric production incentive payments are a benefit available for electric energy generation and sold for a specified 10-year period as authorized under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, DOE received $125 million to support this hydroelectric production incentive. At this time, DOE is accepting applications from owners and authorized operators of qualified hydroelectric facilities for hydroelectricity generated and sold in calendar years 2021 and 2022.

Applications are due by May 8^th at 5 p.m. ET. Instructions for what to include in the application can be found in section VII(b) of the Guidance.

The Grid Deployment Office provides notice of availability of guidance and the opening of the 2023 application period pertaining to section 243 of EPAct 2005, Hydroelectric Efficiency Improvement Incentives, as amended by section 40332 IIJA of 2021, Pub. L. 117-58.

As initially announced in the February 2023 notice of intent, the guidance sets out the eligibility requirements, general application requirements and process, procedures for processing applications, allocation of funding for eligible projects in the event of oversubscription, and funding restrictions. The guidance document describes the application process and the information necessary for the Secretary of Energy to make incentive payments to the owners and authorized operators of qualified hydroelectric facilities at existing dams to be used to make capital improvements in the facilities that are directly related to improving the efficiency of such facilities by at least three percent pursuant to section 243 of EPAct 2005. Under the statute, the incentive payments include the following limitations: an incentive payment shall not exceed 30 percent of the costs of the applicable capital improvement(s); no more than one incentive payment may be made to a single qualified hydroelectric facility in any fiscal year; and that shall not exceed $5,000,000. The guidance is available at: https://www.energy.gov/gdo/section-243-hydroelectric-efficiency-improvement-incentives-program.

The Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit (48C) program was established by the 2009 Recovery Act and expanded with a $10 billion investment under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Today, the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, in partnership with DOE, announced the intent to release approximately $4 billion in a first round of tax credits for projects that expand U.S. supply chains for clean energy technologies and critical materials for clean energy technology production, and for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions at industrial facilities. Approximately $1.6 billion of this allocation will be set aside for projects in coal communities. The program will provide an investment tax credit of up to 30% of qualified investments for certified projects that meet prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements.

Treasury and the IRS intend to issue additional 48C program guidance on May 31, 2023, at which point DOE will begin accepting concept papers.

• Concept papers will be due no later than July 31, 2023.

Any questions or comments regarding the non-tax aspects of the February 13 IRS notice on the 48C program can be submitted to DOE at 48CQuestions@hq.doe.gov. DOE may post questions and answers related to this notice on Infrastructure eXCHANGE under this listing. Any questions or comments received under this notice are subject to public release pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. DOE is under no obligation to respond to, or acknowledge receipt of, any questions or comments submitted under this notice and any responses provided do not constitute legal advice provided by either DOE or the IRS.

The IRS notice release on February 13, 2023, is available at: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-23-18.pdf.

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) intends to issue Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) No. DE-FOA-0002969, titled “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: State Manufacturing Leadership Program (Section 40534).” MESC intends to issue the FOA in the March 2023 timeframe, and the FOA will be funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The anticipated FOA will support BIL Section 40534, which establishes the State Manufacturing Leadership Program. DOE anticipates that the FOA will award financial assistance in the form of cooperative agreements to States (including, but not limited to, state energy or economic development offices) as defined in 2 CFR 200.1 to (1) provide assistance to small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) to implement smart manufacturing technologies and practices and (2) to facilitate access to high-performance computing resources for SMMs.

This Notice of Intent (NOI) is issued so that interested parties are aware of the Office of MESC's intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All the information contained in this NOI is subject to change. MESC will not respond to questions concerning this NOI. Once the FOA has been released, MESC will provide an avenue for potential applicants to submit questions.

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 future DOE Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) to fund the Energy Auditor and Career Skills Training programs, in accordance with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). This RFI also seeks public input on the State-Based Home Energy Efficiency Contractor Training program, as set forth in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

Specifically, this RFI seeks input on:

• The content of, and proposed programmatic requirements for:

1. BIL sections 40503 (The Energy Auditor Training Grant Program, or “EAT”);
2. BIL section 40513 (the Career Skills Training program, or “CST”);
3. IRA section 50123 (the State-Based Home Energy Efficiency Contractor Training program, or Contractor Training Program)

• Respondent type
• Workforce and business characteristics
• Workforce development and business owner training strategies
• Accessing federal funding
• Equity and partnerships
• Access to high quality jobs
• Other

The Information collected from this RFI will be used by DOE for planning purposes to develop one or multiple potential FOAs related to BIL sections 40503 and 40513 and IRA section 50123. The information collected will not be published.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. EERE will not pay for information provided under this RFI and no project will be supported as a result of this RFI. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. EERE may or may not issue Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) based on consideration of the input received from this RFI.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to eeworkforceprograms@hq.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on January 26, 2023. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email that includes "Workforce RFI Response" in the subject line.

Please find the full RFI in the DOCUMENTS section below..

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:

Notice of Intent and Request for Information Regarding Establishment of Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs) at Trade Schools, Community Colleges, and Union Training Programs and Establishment of Building Training and Assessment Centers (BTACs)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) and the DOE Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) intend to jointly issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC) Program – IACs at Trade Schools, Community Colleges, and Union Training Programs; and Building Training and Assessments Centers (BTAC) Program.”

The activities under this FOA will support the establishment by MESC of IACs at trade schools, community colleges, and union training programs pursuant to Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) section 457(f), as added by Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) section 40521(b), and the establishment by SCEP of BTACs pursuant to BIL section 40512. DOE intends that the investments made under this FOA will support the broader government-wide approach to strengthening domestic manufacturing, putting the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050, empowering workers, fostering safe, healthy, and inclusive workplaces and communities, and developing a diverse workforce well-qualified to build and maintain the country’s energy infrastructure and grow domestic clean energy manufacturing.

DOE is compiling a Teaming Partner List to facilitate teaming among multiple stakeholders across academia, industry, National Laboratories, IACs, Manufacturing USA Institutes, MEPs, community-based organizations (CBOs), labor unions, and all technical disciplines. The Teaming Partner List allows organizations who may wish to participate on an application to express their interest to other applicants and to explore potential partnerships. Updates to the Teaming Partner List will be available in the EERE Exchange website. The Teaming Partner List will be regularly updated. Any organization that would like to be included on this list should submit the following information: Organization Name, Contact Name, Contact Address, Contact Email, Contact Phone, Organization Type, Area of Technical Expertise, Brief Description of Capabilities, and Area of Interest (including interest in Topic 1, 2, and/or 3 above). Interested parties should email the information to IACProgram@doe.gov with the subject line “Teaming Partner Information.” By submitting a request to be included on the Teaming Partner List, the requesting organization consents to the publication of the above-referenced information. By enabling and publishing the Teaming Partner List, DOE is not endorsing, sponsoring, or otherwise evaluating the qualifications of the individuals and organizations that are self-identifying themselves for placement on this Teaming Partner List. DOE will not pay for the provision of any information, nor will it compensate any applicants or requesting organizations for the development of such information.

Through this RFI, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) seeks input regarding the implementation of Section 40542 of the IIJA, which provides $50 million in grants to provide energy efficiency materials between fiscal years 2022 – 2026 in buildings owned and operated by charitable nonprofits. DOE aims to prioritize charitable nonprofits with demonstrable financial need, cost-effective strategies, a high potential for energy savings, and charitable nonprofits that present an effective plan for evaluation, measurement and verification of the energy savings. DOE also aims to minimize administrative burden and expand access to charitable nonprofits with limited capacity and resources. DOE is seeking information amongst these five categories of questions:

Outreach, Technical Assistance, Criteria and Metrics, Funding, Partnerships and Community Benefits.

This RFI is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA); therefore, SCEP is not accepting applications at this time. SCEP may issue a FOA in the future based on or related to the content and responses to this RFI; however, SCEP may also elect not to issue a FOA. There is no guarantee that a FOA will be issued as a result of this RFI. Responding to this RFI does not provide any advantage or disadvantage to potential applicants if SCEP chooses to issue a FOA regarding the subject matter. Final details, including the anticipated award size, quantity, and timing of SCEP funded awards, will be subject to Congressional appropriations and direction.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to NonprofitRFI@doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on December 22nd, 2022. 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) attachment to the email, and no more than 10 pages in length, 12 point font, 1 inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

Please identify your answers by responding to a specific question or topic if applicable. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions as they wish.

SCEP will not respond to individual submissions or publish publicly a compendium of responses. 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.

Please see the full RFI document in the Documents section below.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. SCEP will not pay for information provided under this RFI and no project will be supported as a result of this RFI. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. SCEP may or may not issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) based on consideration of the input received from this RFI.