EERE Funding Opportunity Announcements

In recent years a growing number of utilities responsible for clean water have been moving from strict wastewater treatment to water resource management, some formally renaming themselves as water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs). Energy efficiency in equipment, processes, and operations is a fundamental part of this transition, and energy savings in facility retrofits can reach 50 percent. In addition to energy efficiency improvements, wastewater contains about five times more energy than is needed for its treatment, creating an opportunity for new, innovative technologies and approaches to recovering that energy content.

Looking even more broadly than municipal wastewater treatment facilities - across the entire energy-water nexus - water and wastewater contain a significant amount of recoverable chemical, thermal, and hydrodynamic energy content. Treatment efficiencies and energy recovery options across the energy-water nexus create the possibility for a growing percentage of treated water and wastewater systems in municipal, industrial, agriculture, utility, oil and gas and other sectors to achieve net-zero energy consumption, and even to become net producers of energy under favorable circumstances.

Energy is often the second-highest operating cost (behind labor costs) for water and wastewater treatment systems. Black & Veatch’s client surveys indicate that energy costs at water and wastewater utilities account for well over 10% of total operating costs for a large majority of utilities, with a significant number of utilities having energy costs that exceed 30 percent. Increasingly stringent regulations for contaminants are pushing water and wastewater treatment systems to use even more advanced – and energy intensive – treatment technologies. The energy use of these systems is expected to increase by up to 20 percent in the coming decades due to more stringent water quality standards and growing water demand based on population growth. Additionally, water and wastewater treatment facilities, pipes, and related infrastructure in cities around the country are approaching their end of expected service life. Therefore, a unique window of opportunity exists to replace the aging infrastructure with new, innovative approaches to water and wastewater treatment, resource recovery, and water reuse by looking more broadly at interconnected, cross-sector opportunities (i.e. municipal, industrial, agriculture, oil and gas, etc.) across the energy-water nexus to develop water and wastewater treatment systems of the future – advanced water resource recovery systems.
The goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to conduct research, development, and deployment on technology innovations that enable advanced water resource recovery systems. Topic Area 1 of this FOA seeks to advance the development of transformative technologies beyond early stage research and development (R&D) to become pilot ready (TRL 4-6). Whereas, Topic Area 2 of this FOA seeks to test currently developed, pilot ready technologies (TRL 6-7) though design, build, and operations in industrially relevant conditions to enable commercialization.

This FOA is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) as part of the DOE’s Water Security Grand Challenge (WSGC). The WSGC is a White House initiated, U.S. DOE led framework to advance transformational technology and innovation to meet the global need for safe, secure, and affordable water. Using a coordinated suite of prizes, competitions, R&D, and other programs, the Water Security Grand Challenge has set the following goals for the United States to reach by 2030:

As part of the WSGC, DOE announced a $1 million Water Resource Recovery Prize to accelerate resource recovery from municipal wastewater across the United States. DOE also announced the selection of the National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) to lead DOE’s Energy-Water Desalination Hub, an early stage R&D consortia focused on desalination technologies. This FOA seeks to leverage these investments to further develop technologies for advanced water resource recovery systems.

Questions regarding the FOA must be submitted to AMOWaterFOA@ee.doe.gov

Answers to the questions will be posted to an excel spreadsheet found in the annoucement Documents section of the FOA posting.

EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FOA deadline: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist applicants in resolving issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in late submissions: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties so severe that they are unable to submit their application by the deadline, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist the applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing submission on behalf of and with the applicant’s concurrence). Please note, network traffic is at its heaviest during the final hours and minutes prior to submittal deadline. Applicants who experience this during the final hours or minutes and are unsuccessful in uploading documents will not be able to use this process.

As part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)’s mission is to help federal agencies advance the energy efficiency, resilience, and security of their operations. FEMP assists Federal agencies in meeting energy-related goals by bringing expertise from all levels of project and policy implementation to identify affordable solutions and facilitate public-private partnerships.

FEMP’s Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) 2020 Federal Agency Call (FAC) will build on FEMP’s prior AFFECT grant program efforts to provide direct funding to Federal agencies for the development of energy and water efficiency projects and processes. The purpose of the AFFECT 2020 FAC funding is to initiate, supplement, improve or otherwise increase the viability and adoption of energy efficiency and operational resilience at U.S. Federal government-owned facilities. This is accomplished through leveraging the use of a privately financed performance contract in the form of an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC), ENABLE contract, or Utility Energy Service Contract (UESC) to enhance Federal agency energy efficiency goals at mission critical sites. In addition, AFFECT will address the issue of aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance and repairs. The AFFECT 2020 FAC is expected to provide ‘value added’ additions to projects allowing for greater impact from the projects in terms of energy cost savings, enhanced resilience, or improved energy- or cyber-security. FEMP also intends for the AFFECT 2020 FAC to provide demonstrated opportunities for replication of projects at other Federal facilities.

Questions regarding the FAC must be submitted to AFFECT2020@ee.doe.gov.

Answers to the questions will be posted to an excel spreadsheet found in the announcement "Documents" section of the FAC posting.

EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FAC. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should Applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FAC deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist Applicants in resolving issues.

DE-FOA-0002358: Notice of Request for Information (RFI) on the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy’s in support of Battery Critical Materials Supply Chain R&D.

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on issues related to challenges and opportunities in the upstream and midstream critical materials battery supply chains. EERE is specifically interested in information on raw minerals production and refining and processing of cathode materials including cobalt, lithium, and nickel. This RFI is being issued by DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), in collaboration with the Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) and Vehicles Technologies Office (VTO).

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 a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) based on consideration of the input received from this RFI.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to BatteryCriticalMaterialsRFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on July 31, 2020. 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) 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.

The Building Technologies Proving Ground – Public Sector Field Validation funding opportunity will invest up to $10 million to allow state, local, and tribal government entities to compete for funding designed to meet U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) goals via field validation of high impact commercial building technologies. Projects under this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will be funded by the EERE’s Building Technologies Office and administered in partnership with EERE’s Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office’s State Energy Program. The objective of this funding is to generate and disseminate data on the field performance of novel approaches to integrate advanced building technologies, that can inform commercial and multi-family building efficiency, demand flexibility, and building-to-grid programs. Projects funded through this FOA will have the potential to significantly reduce energy use in U.S. commercial buildings, develop new value streams for commercial building owners, and provide the end use flexibility required to dynamically balance the distribution grid.

An informational FOA webinar was held on June 30, 2020 at 12:00pm ET. The slides to the presentation are accessible in the Documents section of the FOA posting. 

Questions regarding the FOA must be submitted to BTOProvingGroundFOA@ee.doe.gov

Answers to the questions will be posted to an excel spreadsheet found in the annoucement Documents section of the FOA posting.

EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FOA deadline: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist applicants in resolving issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in late submissions: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties so severe that they are unable to submit their application by the deadline, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist the applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing submission on behalf of and with the applicant’s concurrence). Please note, network traffic is at its heaviest during the final hours and minutes prior to submittal deadline. Applicants who experience this during the final hours or minutes and are unsuccessful in uploading documents will not be able to use this process.

EERE National Laboratory Guiding Principles require all offices to pursue a merit review of direct-funded national laboratory work. In line with these Principles, the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) is issuing this lab call for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY 2021) funding. VTO will award only a portion of its total planned FY 2021 lab funding through this lab call process. Labs are also selected through the standard Financial Opportunity Announcement (FOA) process and are not restricted from applying to any FOAs.

There is approximately $27 million in annual funding to fund all projects with the potential for future year funding pending appropriations, Program direction, and go/no-go decision points.

Some labs also have continuing multi-year projects that have already gone through the merit review process. These will continue to be reviewed through the annual peer review process and labs should work with VTO project and program managers to ensure that ongoing projects are appropriately included in the AOPs to meet AOP deadlines. This lab call will only pertain to the new AOIs below.

Summary of AOIs:

AOI 1: Joining Core Program Phase 2

AOI 2: Lightweight Metals Core Program

AOI 3: Intermetallic Silicon –based Anodes

AOI 4: Artificial Intelligence for Mobility

AOI 5: High Power Charging Profiles

AOI 6: Threat Mitigation and Operational Smoothing for Charging Stations

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to solicit input from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and the public on high-priority research needs, gaps and opportunities regarding environmental impacts of offshore wind energy development and related monitoring and potential mitigation technology, as outlined in the RFI Document. This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications.

Respondents to this RFI may respond to one or more of the topics, or any number of the questions outlined in the RFI Document.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to WindEnergyRFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00 pm (ET) on July 7, 2020. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email.

This is a Request for Information 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.

This RFI solicits feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on BTO’s opaque envelope program and its future directions and priorities. To clarify these, BTO has developed a report that is structured around five key areas of technology R&D. The report identifies current envelope characteristics, R&D opportunities, integration approaches, and implementation pathways. BTO is requesting feedback on each of these areas. BTO is also requesting feedback on planned technical objectives, technical targets, tools, overall R&D activities, and estimates of program impacts.

This RFI is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA); therefore, EERE is not accepting applications at this time. EERE may issue a FOA in the future based on or related to the content and responses to this RFI; however, EERE 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 EERE chooses to issue a FOA regarding the subject matter. Final details, including the anticipated award size, quantity, and timing of EERE funded awards, will be subject to Congressional appropriations and direction.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to BTO_Envelope_RDO@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on July 20, 2020. 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.

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on BTO’s windows R&D and its future directions and priorities. To clarify these, BTO developed the Research and Development Opportunities (RDO) report, which is structured around four key areas. The RDO report identifies opportunities and challenges, technology development, integration, and implementation. BTO is requesting feedback on each of these areas. BTO is also requesting feedback on planned technical objectives, technical targets, tools, and overall R&D activities and estimates of program impacts. BTO will not develop a FY20 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) based on the feedback from the RFI. This RFI includes guidance on how to provide feedback that will inform updates to the RDO report itself, and ultimately, the strategic direction of the portfolio moving forward.

This RFI is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA); therefore, EERE is not accepting applications at this time. EERE may issue a FOA in the future based on or related to the content and responses to this RFI; however, EERE 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 EERE chooses to issue a FOA regarding the subject matter. Final details, including the anticipated award size, quantity, and timing of EERE funded awards, will be subject to Congressional appropriations and direction.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to BTO_Windows_RDO@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on July 20, 2020. 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.

AMO supports innovative, advanced-manufacturing applied research and development (R&D) projects that focus on specific, high-impact manufacturing technology and process challenges. AMO invests in foundational, energy-related, advanced-manufacturing processes (where energy costs are a determinant of competitive manufacturing) and broadly applicable platform technologies (the enabling base upon which other systems and applications can be developed). The competitively selected projects from this FOA will focus on developing next-generation manufacturing material, information, and process technologies that improve energy efficiency in energy-intensive and energy-dependent processes, and facilitate the transition of emerging, cost-competitive energy technologies to domestic production.

AMO’s vision and mission, as well as the strategic goals, targets, and metrics for key technology focus areas, are described in the Draft AMO Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP) available at: https://www.energy.gov/eere/amo/downloads/advanced-manufacturing-office-amo-multi-year-program-plan-fiscal-years-2017. AMO’s strategic goals supported by this FOA are to:

• Improve the productivity and energy efficiency of U.S. manufacturing
• Reduce lifecycle energy and resource impacts of manufactured goods
• Leverage diverse domestic energy resources in U.S. manufacturing, while strengthening environmental stewardship
• Transition DOE supported innovative technologies and practices into U.S. manufacturing capabilities
• Strengthen and advance the U.S. manufacturing workforce

This FOA integrates identified research opportunities across AMO into a single funding opportunity. AMO intends to fund high-impact, early- to mid-stage applied research through this FOA. Topics are organized in 3 main topic areas, as described below, with subtopics in each area.

Topic 1: Efficiency Improvements in Advanced Manufacturing Processes

Subtopic 1.1: Innovative Iron and Steelmaking Processes

Subtopic 1.2: Enhanced Efficiency of Drying Processes

Subtopic 1.3: Machine Learning to Increase Efficiencies in the Manufacturing of Large-Scale, High-Rate Aerostructures

Subtopic 1.4: Integrated Additive Manufacturing Processes for Advanced Wind Blade Production

Subtopic 1.5: Reducing Cost of Production of Ceramic Matrix Composites Used in High Temperature Applications

Topic 2: Efficiency Improvements in Chemical Manufacturing

Subtopic 2.1: Advanced Chemical Manufacturing R&D

Subtopic 2.2: Dynamic Catalyst Science with Data Analytics

Topic 3: Connected, Flexible, and Efficient Manufacturing Facilities, Products, and Energy Systems

Subtopic 3.1: Integrating Carbon Capture and Utilization into Industrial Processes

Subtopic 3.2: Flexible CHP Demonstration in a District Energy System Integrated with a Renewably-Fueled Municipal Generating Station

For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-FOA-0002252 AMO 2020 FAQ Log at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. 

EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FOA deadline: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov . The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist applicants in resolving issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in late submissions: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties so severe that they are unable to submit their application by the deadline, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist the applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing submission on behalf of and with the applicant’s concurrence). Please note, network traffic is at its heaviest during the final hours and minutes prior to submittal deadline. Applicants who experience this during the final hours or minutes and are unsuccessful in uploading documents will not be able to use this process.

MODIFICATION 0004: The purpose of this modification is to correct Modification 0003 and clarify:

(1) the use of coal and coal-based sources is specifically not of interest under Topic Area 2 on page 19:

Proposed projects must not include coal or coal-based resources (see Section I.C of the FOA).

(2) the use of coal and coal-based sources is specifically not of interest under all Topic Areas of the FOA on page 21:

For applications under all Topic Areas of the FOA, proposed projects must not include coal or coal-based resources. Applicants may see Section I.E for additional details for related opportunities.

3) the submission deadlines are extended on page i.

Submission Deadline for Concept Papers:

6/29/20 5:00pm ET

Submission Deadline for Full Applications:

8/19/20 5:00pm ET

Expected Submission Deadline for Replies to Reviewer Comments:

9/17/20 5:00pm ET

MODIFICATION 0003: The purpose of this modification is to clarify the restrictions on the use of coal and coal-based sources in Topic Area 2 of the FOA on page 19 and page 21:

"For all Areas of Interest under Topic 2 of the FOA, flexible or mixed raw materials sources are of interest, but cannot include greater than 49% coal or coal-based sources by weight. Proposed projects to Topic Area 2 of this FOA must not be duplicative of existing efforts of the Feasibility of Recovery Rare Earth Elements Program at the National Energy Technology Laboratory."

MODIFICATION 0002: The purposes of this modification are to clarify:

(1) the definition of "raw materials" under this FOA on page 11:

"For the purposes of all topics in the FOA, "raw materials" refer to materials or minerals extracted from the natural environment and any associated waste streams, but do NOT include end-of-life products."; and

(2) which materials (raw materials vs. end-of-life products) are of interest for separation and processing under Topic 1 Area of Interest 2 on page 15:

Topic 1, Area of Interest 2, seeks projects to improve industrial beneficiation (froth flotation, magnetic separation, or gravity flotation), separation (solvent extraction) and/or processing (molten salt electrolysis and metallothermic reduction) of REEs. In addition to the Topic 1, Area of Interest 2, specific requirements below, improvements to REE separation and processing should be able to handle flexible feedstocks (Figure 3). Of particular interest are technologies that can handle both raw materials and end-of-life products. Proposed technologies cannot solely target end-of-life products, or propose end-of-life products as the material choice for demonstration of the proposed technology.

Battery Critical Materials

For Topic 1 Area of Interest 2, proposed improvements to separation and processing of cobalt, lithium, manganese, and synthetic graphite may include the ability to handle flexible feedstocks, i.e. technologies that can handle both raw materials.

MODIFICATION 0001: The purpose of this modification is to add general authorities that were transferred from the U.S. Bureau of Mines to the Department of Energy, on page 8 of the FOA:

“In addition, the Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1996 generally supports DOE research and development activities related to extraction, separation, and processing technologies. When the United States Bureau of Mines (BoM) was closed in 1996, Congress transferred certain BoM functions to DOE including research of the extraction, processing, use and disposal of mineral substances, and functions pertaining to mineral reclamation industries and the development of methods for the disposal, control, prevention, and reclamation of mineral waste products. See Pub. L. No. 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321-167 (1996).”

ORIGINAL ANNOUNCMENT:

Through this funding opportunity announcement (FOA), the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) seeks to address gaps in domestic supply chains for key critical materials for clean energy technologies to:

- Enable domestic manufacturing of high energy efficiency and high energy density clean energy technologies;

- Diversify the domestic supply of critical materials; and

- Validate and demonstrate domestic innovative technologies to support the transition to U.S. manufacturing.

This will be accomplished through development of alternative next-generation technologies and field validation and demonstration of technologies that improve extraction, separation and processing. Key critical materials for energy technologies as defined in this FOA include: rare earth elements: neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb), and samarium (Sm) used in permanent magnets for electric vehicle motors, wind turbine generators and high temperature applications; cobalt (Co) used in batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) and grid storage and high temperature permanent magnets; and lithium (Li), manganese (Mn) and natural graphite used in batteries (see table below).This FOA seeks to leverage the technology and capabilities developed at the Critical Materials Institute (CMI), an Energy Innovation Hub led by Ames Laboratory and managed by DOE.

For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-FOA-0002322 AMO 2020 FAQ Log at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov.

EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FOA deadline: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist applicants in resolving issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in late submissions: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties so severe that they are unable to submit their application by the deadline, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist the applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing submission on behalf of and with the applicant’s concurrence). Please note, network traffic is at its heaviest during the final hours and minutes prior to submittal deadline. Applicants who experience this during the final hours or minutes and are unsuccessful in uploading documents will not be able to use this process.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Advanced Manufacturing Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “FY20 Advanced Manufacturing Multi-topic FOA”.

This FOA supports the achievement of AMO’s goals of enhanced productivity through innovation by focusing in three main areas: 1) next-generation manufacturing for advancing process technologies that improve energy efficiency in energy intensive and energy dependent processes; 2) modular, hybrid, and/or catalytic processes to improve energy efficiency in chemical manufacturing; and 3) connected, flexible, and efficient manufacturing facilities, products and energy systems. The FOA integrates identified research opportunities across AMO into a single funding opportunity and is intended to fund high-impact, applied research and development projects.

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT (NOI) ONLY. This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the EERE’s intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change. EERE may issue a FOA as described herein, may issue a FOA that is significantly different from the FOA described herein, or EERE may not issue a FOA at all.

EERE will not respond to questions concerning this Notice. Once the FOA has been released, EERE will provide an avenue for potential Applicants to submit questions.

Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. EERE plans to issue the FOA in mid-May, 2020 via theEERE Exchange website https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/.

Please review the full Notice of Intent, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on how to improve framing of issues and potential appropriate government roles in addressing them, so that the DOE hydropower strategy and HydroWIRES research can be most impactful for the nation. This is solely a Request for Information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to WPTORFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on June 24, 2020. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. Only electronic responses will be accepted. 

This is a Request for Information 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.

Modification 00001 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00001 are highlighted in yellow.

The Educational Materials for Professional Organizations Working on Efficiency and Renewable Energy Developments (EMPOWERED) funding program is a collaborative effort across EERE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), and Building Technologies Office (BTO), to provide professionals with educational materials and training resources in fields newly interacting with distributed energy resources (DER). In this program, DER includes distributed solar, like on homes and businesses, as well as efficient building technologies and sustainable transportation technologies, such as electric vehicles.

The goal of this program is to create resources that will help those on the front lines of DER adoption—like first responders, safety officials, and building managers and owners—keep up with these rapidly emerging and advancing technologies. These professionals are at the forefront of America’s energy transition and play a role in easing adoption, ensuring safety, and reducing installation costs. Because of this, the participating EERE offices see these professionals as key to enabling understanding and acceptance of new energy technologies.

SETO, BTO, and VTO seek applicants that will create and integrate education and training materials for professionals who have significant involvement and authority over implementing solar, building, or vehicle technologies on the distribution system but who do not work primarily with these technologies. Those technologies include but are not limited to DER—like PV systems, building efficiency technologies, energy storage systems, AFV, EV—and EV infrastructure.

There was an informational webinar held on April 16, 2020 at 1pm EST. The slides and script are available below.

All questions regarding the content of this FOA should be submitted to Empowered-Workforce@ee.doe.gov.

PLEASE NOTE- The Submission Deadline for Full Applications is extended from 07/09/2020, by 5:00pm ET to 07/16/2020, by 5:00pm ET, as shown on the cover page of the modified 0001 FOA document.

Modification 0001:

The purposes of this modification are to update the following dates located on the Cover Page of the FOA:

        * Submission Deadline for Full Applications

        * Expected Submission Deadline for Replies to Reviewer Comments

        * Expected Date for EERE Selection Notifications

        * Expected Timeframe for Award Negotiations

The Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) is within the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). EERE advances America’s leadership in science and technology through early-stage research and development in sustainable transportation, renewable power, and energy efficiency.

WETO enables growth and U.S. competitiveness in the domestic wind industry by supporting early-stage research on technologies that enhance energy affordability, reliability, and resilience and strengthen U.S. energy security, economic growth, and environmental quality. More information is available at www.energy.gov/eere/wind.

WETO works with DOE National Laboratories, industry, universities, and other federal agencies to conduct research and development activities through competitively selected, directly funded, and cost-shared projects. WETO’s efforts target land-based utility-scale, offshore, and distributed wind power to fully support a national clean energy economy.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002236 entitled “Offshore Wind Atmospheric Science and Project Development.”

This FOA has Two Topic Areas

Topic Area 1: The overall goal of this Topic Area is to provide funding for a project that will improve wind resource modeling and predictions in offshore wind energy development areas. Using lessons-learned and information gained during the previous program work in complex-terrain wind resource modeling and prediction, this Topic Area will focus on improving wind resource model physics for foundational wind forecasts and other applications in offshore wind energy development areas.

Topic Area 2: The overall goal of this Topic Area is to provide funding for a project(s) that will enable demonstration of a novel technology and/or methodology that will advance the state-of-the-art of offshore wind energy in the United States. The proposed project must either implement an innovative technology at engineering/pilot or full-scale, and/or employ a novel methodology that has yet to be utilized commercially in the United States for offshore wind.

For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-FOA-0002236 FAQ Log link below.

Please note the "Submission Deadlines" below. The EERE Exchange system is designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants. Applicants are encouraged to submit Concept Papers and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the related Submission Deadline. For this FOA, Applicants must submit a Concept Paper by the stated deadline in order to be eligible to submit a Full Application.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the Exchange Helpdesk for assistance at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov.

Modification 0001 has been made to this FOA to correct information on estimated funding for Topic Area 3 on page 25.

The Office of EnergyEfficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled "Marine Energy Foundational Research and Testing Infrastructure." This FOA addresses priorities in the following Topic Areas:

Topic Area 1: Foundational Research and Development (R&D)

Topic Area 2: Atlantic Marine Energy Center (AMEC)

Topic Area 3: Foundational Research Network Facilitator (FRNF)

Topic Area 4: Current Energy Technology Testing Infrastructure

Please carefully review the complete FOA, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

FOA Q&A can also be accessed under the "Documents" heading. Please review the Q&A before submitting a question, as a similar question may already have been answered.

Please note the "Submission Deadlines" below. The EERE Exchange system is designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants. Applicants are encouraged to submit Concept Papers and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the related Submission Deadline. For this FOA, Applicants must submit a Concept Paper by the stated deadline in order to be eligible to submit a Full Application.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the Exchange Helpdesk for assistance at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov.

Please note that The Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO) template was updated on May 28, 2020.

Informational Webinar:

A pre-recorded informational webinar is available to provide information on the FOA to potential applicants. Please see the link below to access this webinar information:

https://youtu.be/W4Ah2eOFUGo

A PowerPoint version of the webinar can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from utilities, industry, academia, EV service providers, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on issues related to Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings in Connected Communities. EERE is specifically interested in information on the draft Connected Communities FOA goals and design. This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications.

This RFI is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA); therefore, EERE is not accepting applications at this time. EERE may issue a FOA in the future based on or related to the content and responses to this RFI; however, EERE 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 EERE chooses to issue a FOA regarding the subject matter. Final details, including the anticipated award size, quantity, and timing of EERE funded awards, will be subject to Congressional appropriations and direction.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to CCPilotsRFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on May 12, 2020. 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.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is consistent with the principles of tribal sovereignty and self-determination, and with an all of-the-above energy strategy that recognizes the breadth of energy resources on Tribal Lands, and each Tribe’s right to use them as they see fit. Projects sought under this FOA are fuel and technology neutral. Specifically, DOE’s Office of Indian Energy is soliciting applications from Indian Tribes, which include Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Village Corporations, Intertribal Organizations, and Tribal Energy Development Organizations to:

(1) Install energy generating system(s) and energy efficiency measure(s) for Tribal Building(s) (Topic Area 1); or,
(2) Deploy community-scale energy generating system(s) or energy storage on Tribal Lands (Topic Area 2); or,
(3) Install integrated energy system(s) for autonomous operation (independent of the traditional centralized electric power grid) to power a single or multiple essential tribal facilities during emergency situations or for tribal community resilience (Topic Area 3); or,
(4) Deploy energy infrastructure and integrated energy system(s) to electrify Tribal Buildings (Topic Area 4).

The intended results of the 50% cost-shared projects selected under this FOA are to reduce or stabilize energy costs and increase energy security and resiliency for Indian Tribes and tribal members.

DOE expects to make approximately $10 million to $15 million of federal funding available for new awards under this FOA, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on Congressional appropriations. DOE anticipates making approximately 6 to 12 awards under this FOA. DOE may issue awards in one, multiple, or none of the topic areas.

Modification 0001

All modifications to the Funding Opportunity Announcement are highlighted in yellow in the body of the FOA. Modification 0001 included the following:

1. Section I.B. (Topic Area 2.a.) – Deleted reference “no less than three (3) buildings” as there is no specific minimum, other than a substantial number of buildings (page 21)

2. Section I.B. (Topic Area 2.b.) – Deleted reference “no less than three (3) buildings” as there is no specific minimum, other than a substantial number of buildings (page 23)

3. Section I.B. (Topic Area 3.b.) – Deleted reference “no less than three (3) essential tribal facilities” as there is no specific minimum, other than a substantial number of essential tribal facilities (page 26)

4. Section I.B. (Topic Area 4) – Deleted reference “no less than three (3) buildings” as there is no specific minimum, other than a substantial number of Tribal Buildings (page 28)

Modification 0002

All modifications to the Funding Opportunity Announcement are highlighted in yellow in the body of the FOA. Modification 0002 included the following:

Extended the submission deadline for applications from “July 1, 2020 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time” to “July 30, 2020 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time”

Other Exchange Information:

EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will be automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines.

Should Applicants experience problems with Exchange, the following information may be helpful:

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FOA deadline (in the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission), the Applicant should contact the Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov) will assist Applicants in resolving issues. However, those Applicants who are unable to submit their applications because they are submitting them at the last minute, when network traffic is at its heaviest, will not be able to seek assistance from the EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system.

Informational Webinar:
An informational webinar was held on April 7, 2020 to provide information on the FOA to potential applicants. In addition to describing the FOA in detail, information was provided on who is eligible to apply, what an application needs to include, cost share and other requirements, how to ask questions, and how applications will be selected for funding. If you were unable to attend the webinar, please see the link below:

Amendment 000001 - At EERE, we understand that due to the coronavirus outbreak, many of us have had to make adjustments to our business operations and practices in order to safeguard the health and safety of our communities. Due to the extraordinary circumstances in which we now find ourselves, EERE is issuing an extension of 14 calendar days to respond to FOA DE-FOA-0002245. The due date for Concept Papers for this FOA is now 04/29/2020. The due date for Full Applications for this FOA is now 07/02/2020.

All questions and answers related to this FOA will be posted on EERE Exchange at: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. Please note that you must first select this specific FOA Number in order to view the questions and answers specific to this FOA.

Thank you, applicants, for your continued efforts during this uncertain time.

We hope that you and your loved ones are well and we look forward to hearing from you.

In November 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the Plastics Innovation Challenge, a comprehensive program to accelerate innovations in energy-efficient plastics recycling technologies. This FOA will support high-impact R&D for plastics by developing new plastics that are capable of efficient recyclability and improving recycling strategies that can break existing plastics into chemical building blocks that can be used to make higher-value products.

DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) develops technologies that convert domestic biomass and waste resources into fuels, products, and power to enable affordable energy, economic growth, and innovation in renewable energy and chemicals production. DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) develops technologies that drive energy productivity improvements in the U.S. manufacturing sector, efficiently utilize abundant and available domestic energy resources, and support the manufacture of clean energy products with benefits extending across the economy. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will support high-impact technology research and development (R&D) to enable the development of technologies that overcome the challenges associated with plastic waste.

Topic Areas include:

1) Highly Recyclable or Biodegradable Plastics: develop new plastics that have improved performance attributes over a comparable existing plastic that can be cost-effectively recycled or biodegrade completely in the environment or in compost facilities.

2) Novel Methods for Deconstructing and Upcycling Existing Plastics: generate energy efficient recycling technologies (mechanical, chemical, or biological) that are capable of breaking plastic streams into intermediates which can be upgraded into higher value products.

3) BOTTLE Consortium Collaborations to Tackle Challenges in Plastic Waste: create collaborations with the Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE) Laboratory Consortium to further the long-term goals of the Consortium and the Plastics Innovation Challenge.

The eXCHANGE system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of, and with the Applicant's concurrence). DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance; and c) has submitted the application through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the FOA's posted deadline.

Please see the full FOA in the DOCUMENTS section below.

The purposes of this Modification 0001 are to:

1. Update Section III. Eligibility Information on Page 10, to include a definition of elements that must be present in qualifying existing joint graduate education program; and,

2. Update Section IV.B.iii. DOE National Laboratory Commitment Letter, on Page 24.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002283 entitled “Workforce Development in Emerging Fields.”
Workforce development in emerging technical fields is a critical issue for the United States. The Federal government has a key role to play in helping develop models and frameworks to provide interdisciplinary depth and to speed the training in important fields. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) roadmap, “Charting a Course for Success: American’s Strategy for STEM Education,”
points to four pathways representing a cross-cutting set of approaches to accomplish science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education goals, among which is the preparation of the STEM workforce for the future:
• Develop and Enrich Strategic Partnerships
• Engage Students where Disciplines Converge
• Build Computations Literacy
• Operate with Transparency and Accountability

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) in particular is interested in these issues as they pertain to relevant training for emerging technologies in the renewable power, sustainable transportation, and energy efficiency sectors, along with the fundamental science and engineering that feed into them. Many students and recent graduates lack accurate knowledge about careers relevant to these technology sectors, how to gain relevant skills for employment, or the positive impacts these jobs have on quality of life. A cutting-edge joint program can help fill this gap.

This FOA seeks to fund a land-grant university to pursue leading-edge interdisciplinary research that promotes workforce development in emerging fields within EERE-related disciplines and technologies, by supporting a coordinated expansion of existing joint graduate education programs with DOE National Laboratories to prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers.

For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-FOA-0002283 Workforce Development 2020 FAQ Log at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov.

EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FOA deadline: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist applicants in resolving issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in late submissions: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties so severe that they are unable to submit their application by the deadline, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist the applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing submission on behalf of and with the applicant’s concurrence). Please note, network traffic is at its heaviest during the final hours and minutes prior to submittal deadline. Applicants who experience this during the final hours or minutes and are unsuccessful in uploading documents will not be able to use this process.

EERE National Laboratory Guiding Principles require all offices to pursue a merit review of direct-funded national laboratory work. In line with these Principles, the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) is issuing this lab call for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY 2020). VTO will award only a portion of its total planned FY 2020 lab funding through this lab call process. Labs are also selected through the standard Financial Opportunity Announcement (FOA) process and are not restricted from applying to any FOAs.

Some labs also have continuing multi-year projects that have already gone through the merit review process. These will continue to be reviewed through the annual peer review process and labs should work with VTO project and program managers to ensure that ongoing projects are appropriately included in the AOPs to meet AOP deadlines. This lab call will only pertain to the new AOIs below.

Summary of AOIs

AOI 1: SMART Mobility Lab Consortium

• AOI 1A: Tools: Improving and refining existing Modeling Workflow capabilities
• AOI 1B: Tools: Adding new capabilities and tools to the Modeling Workflow
• AOI 1C: Mobility Data and Research

AOI 2: Composite Materials and Structures R&D

AOI 3: Medium and Heavy-Duty Truck R&D

FY20 SETO FOA Topic Area 2 Applicants ONLY

Modification 00003 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00003 are highlighted in blue.

Modification 00002 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00002 are highlighted in green.

Modification 00001 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00001 are highlighted in yellow

Topic Area 2: Integrated Thermal Energy STorage and Brayton Cycle (Integrated TESTBED)
Research in this topic area will work to move lab-scale supercritical CO2 (sCO2) Brayton power cycles closer to commercial production by designing and demonstrating the integration of these cycles with thermal energy storage (TES).

Teaming Lists associated with this FOA can be found on the main FOA page https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/default.aspx#FoaIdc8e280d2-b7bf-4138-810b-cad9ba1541ac.

Questions and Answers related to this FOA can be found on the main FOA page https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/default.aspx#FoaIdc8e280d2-b7bf-4138-810b-cad9ba1541ac.

Modification 00003 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00003 are highlighted in blue.

Modification 00002 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00002 are highlighted in green.

Modification 00001 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00001 are highlighted in yellow

Topic Area 8: Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS): PV and CSP
Projects in this topic area will focus on innovative and novel ideas in photovoltaics and concentrating solar-thermal power that are riskier than research ideas based on established technologies.

Submission Note:

PV SIPS applications must be submitted under Topic Area 8.1.

CSP SIPS applications must be submitted under Topic Area 8.2

Teaming Lists associated with this FOA can be found on the main FOA page https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/default.aspx#FoaIdc8e280d2-b7bf-4138-810b-cad9ba1541ac.

Questions and Answers related to this FOA can be found on the main FOA page https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/default.aspx#FoaIdc8e280d2-b7bf-4138-810b-cad9ba1541ac.

Modification 00003 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00003 are highlighted in blue.

Modification 00002 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00002 are highlighted in green.

Modification 00001 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00001 are highlighted in yellow

The Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) works across the solar energy technology spectrum with the goal of improving the affordability, reliability, and performance of solar technologies on the grid. Ensuring that more Americans can benefit from the declining costs of solar is one of SETO's primary goals, which support early-stage research, development, and demonstration of solar technologies. Achieving SETO's priorities across the solar energy technology landscape requires sustained, multifaceted innovation. With this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the office intends to fund high-impact, early-stage research in the following areas:

Topic Area 1: Photovoltaics Hardware Research

*Topic Area 2: Integrated Thermal Energy STorage and Brayton Cycle (Integrated TESTBED) (Applications must be submitted under DE-TA2-0002243.)

Topic Area 3: Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies 3 (SEEDS 3)

Topic Area 4: SETO Incubator Tier 2: Innovation in Manufacturing

Topic Area 5: Systems Integration

Topic Area 6: Agricultural Solar: Opportunities, Innovative Models, and Novel System Designs

Topic Area 7: Artificial Intelligence Applications in Solar Energy with Emphasis on Machine Learning

*Topic Area 8: Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS): PV and CSP (Applications must be submitted under DE-TA8-0002243.)

Informational webinars:

February 12, 2020, at 2 PM Eastern Standard Time / 12 PM Mountain Standard Time

ATTENTION: Modification (0001) to FOA has been uploaded to Documents section below. Numerous updates including an extended Full Application Due Date are included. Please review.

Through the Wells of Opportunity (WOO) FOA, EERE's Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) is soliciting well owners or operators with “idle” wells that are willing to partner with DOE to advance and test EGS technologies in-situ. Due to the criticality of the technology prototyping and methodology testing phase of research and development in the innovation pipeline, this FOA focuses on active field testing, where the Federal government takes on the associated high cost and risks.

Topic Area 1 – Pilot (FORGE Test Wells): The objective of this initiative is to select, prepare, permit, and repair idle wells for early-stage FORGE technology and methodology testing prior to or in lieu of testing in the FORGE Utah wells. These wells will be closely linked to the FORGE effort, contributing to the overall goals and mission of the FORGE initiative by enabling higher-risk technology testing.

Topic Area 2– Amplify (EGS Near-Field RD&D): This field validation effort will culminate in new power production, adding to the economic viability of these existing geothermal fields and illustrating that near-field EGS can be successfully deployed now and that low permeability/unproductive wells near existing hydrothermal fields can be turned into valuable assets using EGS techniques.

Please carefully review the complete Funding Opportunity Announcement, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

FOA Q&A can also be accessed under the "Documents" heading. Please review the Q&A before submitting a question, as a similar question may already have been answered. Please include the Topic Area(s) with the question.

To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE Exchange (this website), EERE’s online application portal.

The Exchange system enforces hard deadlines for Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline should contact the Exchange Helpdesk for assistance at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov. Applicants are responsible for meeting each submission deadline. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline.

ATTENTION: Modification (0001) to FOA has been uploaded to Documents section below. Numerous updates including an extended Full Application Due Date are included. Please review.

At EERE, we understand that due to the coronavirus outbreak, many of us have had to make adjustments to our business operations and practices in order to safeguard the health and safety of our communities. Due to the extraordinary circumstances in which we now find ourselves, EERE is issuing an extension of 26 calendar days to respond to this FOA. The Full Application due date for this FOA is now May 4, 2020 5:00pm ET.

Thank you, applicants, for your continued efforts during this uncertain time.

We hope that you and your loved ones are well and we look forward to hearing from you.

The FOA has been modified as follows:

1. Updated Submission Deadline for Full Applications and Expected Submission Deadline for Replies to Reviewer Comments.
2. Updated Section II.A.i “Estimated Funding” to state one or more awards may be issued under Topic 1.

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The Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO), within the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), supports early-stage research and development (R&D) to strengthen the body of knowledge upon which industry can accelerate the development and deployment of innovative geothermal energy technologies.

GTO works to develop technologies to drive down the costs and risks of geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is a domestic energy resource from the heat of the earth, which represents a reliable, secure, clean, and nearly inexhaustible energy source.

This multi-topic funding opportunity aims to drive down costs and risks associated with the discovery of hidden geothermal systems in the Basin & Range region of the U.S., and to enhance energy system resilience through the utilization of Reservoir Thermal Energy Storage (RTES), Deep Direct-Use (DDU) and other geothermal direct use applications on university campuses, military installations, hospital complexes, and other large energy end-uses across the U.S.

The topic areas will be:

Topic Area 1 – Exploration RD&D: Hidden Geothermal Systems in the Basin and Range

Topic Area 2 – Advanced Energy Storage Initiative (AESI): Bi-directional Energy Storage Using Low-Temperature Geothermal Applications

Please carefully review the complete Funding Opportunity Announcement, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

FOA Q&As can also be accessed under the "Documents" heading. Please review the Q&A before submitting a question, as a similar question may already have been answered.

To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE Exchange (this website), EERE’s online application portal.

The Exchange system enforces hard deadlines for Letter of Intent and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline should contact the Exchange Helpdesk for assistance at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov. Applicants are responsible for meeting each submission deadline. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their Letters of Intent and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadlines.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Workforce Development in Emerging Fields.”

EERE intends to announce a funding opportunity to support leading-edge interdisciplinary research that promotes workforce development in emerging fields by supporting a coordinated expansion of existing joint graduate education programs with national laboratories to prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers. Consistent with Congressional guidance, applicants will be restricted to land grant universities. Qualified land grant universities are identified here: https://nifa.usda.gov/land-grant-colleges-and-universities-partner-website-directory.

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

Modification 00001 - This modification extends the deadline for responses to this RFI to March 4, 2020. This change is highlighted in yellow on page 5 of the RFI document.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) is issuing this request for information (RFI) to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders. This RFI will inform SETO’s strategic planning on research related to the integration of solar energy resources. Specifically, this RFI will inform SETO’s strategies relating to prediction of solar irradiance reaching the surface of the earth, and power output from solar generation plants, using either photovoltaic (PV) or concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies. Improving solar generation prediction will better inform grid operators as they consider the impacts of solar power variability on grid planning and operations technologies, as well as the owners and operators of utility-scale plants and aggregators of distributed PV systems.

The purpose of Amendment 000003 is to extend the deadline to submit full applications from 4/14/2020 to 4/28/2020.

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The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled, “Fiscal Year 2020 Advanced Vehicle Technologies Research Funding Opportunity Announcement.”

This FOA seeks research projects to address priorities in the following areas: advanced batteries and electrification in support of the recently-announced DOE Energy Storage Grand Challenge; advanced engine and fuel technologies, including technologies for off-road applications and alternative fueled engines; lightweight materials; new mobility technologies (energy efficient mobility systems); and alternative fuels technology demonstrations.

Amendment 000001 - At EERE, we understand that due to the coronavirus outbreak, many of us have had to make adjustments to our business operations and practices in order to safeguard the health and safety of our communities. Due to the extraordinary circumstances in which we now find ourselves, EERE is issuing an extension of 14 calendar days to respond to FOA DE-FOA-0002203. The due date for this FOA is now 05/14/2020.

All questions and answers related to this FOA will be posted on EERE Exchange at: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. Please note that you must first select this specific FOA Number in order to view the questions and answers specific to this FOA.

Thank you, applicants, for your continued efforts during this uncertain time.

We hope that you and your loved ones are well and we look forward to hearing from you.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) develops technologies that convert domestic biomass and other waste resources into fuels, products, and power to enable affordable energy, economic growth, and innovation in renewable energy and chemicals production – the bioeconomy. The activities supported by BETO are authorized by public law 109–58, TITLE IX, § 932, which authorizes the Secretary of Energy to establish a program of research and developmentfor bioenergy with the goal of price-competitivebiofuels, bioproducts, and biopower made from biomass-based feedstocks – see section I.E for details. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will support high-impact technology research and development (R&D) to enable growth and innovation to accelerate the bioeconomy by requesting applications across the entire scope of BETO’s mission space.

This FOA will provide funding to address BETO’s highest priority R&D areas. It includes Topic Areas from five BETO programs: Feedstock Supply and Logistics; Advanced Algal Systems; Conversion Technologies; Advanced Development and Optimization; and Strategic Analysis and Crosscutting Sustainability. Each Topic Area supports BETO’s objectives to reduce the minimum selling price of drop-in biofuels, lower the cost of biopower, and enable high-value products from biomass or waste resources.

Topic 1: Scale Up of Bench Applications (SCUBA)

Topic 2: Waste to Energy Strategies for the Bioeconomy

Topic 3: Algae Bioproducts and CO₂ Direct-Air-Capture Efficiency (ABCDE)

Topic 4: Bio-Restore: Biomass to Restore Natural Resources

Topic 5: Efficient Wood Heaters

Topic 6: Biopower and Products from Urban and Suburban Wastes: North American Multi-University Partnership for Research and Education

Topic 7: Scalable CO₂ Electrocatalysis

The eXCHANGE system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of, and with the Applicant's concurrence). DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance; and c) has submitted the application through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the FOA's posted deadline.

Please see the full FOA document in the DOCUMENTS section below.

At EERE, we understand that due to the coronavirus outbreak, many of us have had to make adjustments to our business operations and practices in order to safeguard the health and safety of our communities. Due to the extraordinary circumstances in which we now find ourselves, EERE is issuing an extension of 14 calendar days to respond to this FOA. The Full Application due date for this FOA is now May 4, 2020 5:00pm ET.

Thank you, applicants, for your continued efforts during this uncertain time.

We hope that you and your loved ones are well and we look forward to hearing from you.

The FOA has been modified as follows:

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The technology improvements necessary to advance H2@Scale encompass four main focus areas—better ways to MAKE, MOVE, USE, and STORE hydrogen. The initial H2@Scale FOA, released by EERE in FY19, focused on enabling R&D in these areas—and also funded first-of-kind pilot demonstrations of integrated systems with on-site nuclear power and multiple renewable energy sources. The key to continued advancement of H2@Scale is scaling up affordable hydrogen and fuel cell technology options for expanded supply and demand, enabled in part by continued R&D.

This “H2@Scale New Markets FOA” will provide more than $64M in Federal funding to advance the focus areas of H2@Scale and support EERE’s core priorities. Highlighting the importance of scaling up hydrogen use across sectors, this FOA will include more novel demonstration projects for several emerging new markets and applications.

Topics under this FOA to advance H2@Scale include:

Topic 1: Electrolyzer Manufacturing R&D

Topic 2: Advanced Carbon Fiber for Compressed Hydrogen and Natural Gas Storage Tanks

Topic 3: Fuel Cell R&D for Heavy Duty Applications

Subtopic 3a: Membranes for Heavy-Duty Applications

Subtopic 3b: Domestically Manufactured Fuel Cells for Heavy-Duty Applications

Topic 4: H2@Scale New Markets R&D—HySteel

Topic 5: H2@Scale New Markets Demonstrations

Subtopic 5a: Maritime Demonstrations

Subtopic 5b: Data Center Demonstrations

Topic 6: Training and Workforce Development for Emerging Hydrogen Technologies

Please carefully review the complete Funding Opportunity Announcement, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

FOA Q&A can also be accessed under the "Documents" heading. Please review the Q&A before submitting a question, as a similar question may already have been answered.

To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE Exchange (this website), EERE’s online application portal.

The Exchange system enforces hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline should contact the Exchange Helpdesk for assistance at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov. Applicants are responsible for meeting each submission deadline. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their Concept Papers and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline.

ATTENTION:  See message above and revised FOA (Mod 0002) in Documents section below.  The Full Applilcation Due Date for this FOA has been extended.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Solar Energy Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Solar Energy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2020 Funding Program.”

The Solar Energy Technologies Office intends to announce a funding opportunity to support early-stage research and development of solar technologies that support use and integration of solar technologies onto the electric grid. The FOA may support innovative research efforts that lower solar electricity costs to promote energy affordability, securely and reliably integrate more solar energy onto the grid, and enhance the use and storage of solar energy. These efforts are intended to provide the technological foundations necessary to continue the solar industry’s growth and preserve American energy choice, independence, and security. The funding amount is subject to the availability of funds appropriated by Congress for the purpose of this program and the availability of future-year budget authority.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Fuel Cell Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “H2@Scale New Markets FOA”, to advance innovations that will build new markets for H2@Scale. Transformational R&D and innovative concepts for new H2@Scale markets will be key to expanding hydrogen opportunities and converting them into market solutions that benefit the American people and provide added value for the economy.

Potential topics under the FOA include:

• Electrolyzer Manufacturing R&D
• Advanced Carbon Fiber for Compressed Storage Tanks
• Fuel Cell R&D for Heavy-Duty Applications
• H2@Scale New Markets R&D—HySteel
• H2@Scale New Markets Demonstrations
• Training and Workforce Development

This FOA supports the vision of affordable and large-scale production, storage, transport, and utilization of hydrogen in the United States.

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

EERE plans to issue the FOA in January of 2020 via the EERE Exchange website https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/. If applicants wish to receive official notifications and information from EERE regarding this FOA, they should register in EERE Exchange. When the FOA is released, applications will be accepted only through EERE Exchange.

The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy intends to issue, on behalf of the Vehicle Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement, number DE-FOA-0002197 entitled "FY 2020 Vehicle Technologies Program Wide Funding Opportunity Announcement".

PLEASE NOTE THAT NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE. Please do not submit questions or respond to this Notice of Intent. Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. It is anticipated that this FOA will be posted to the EERE Exchange website in the January/February 2020 timeframe.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Multi-Topic FOA”.

BETO develops technologies that convert domestic biomass and waste resources into fuels, products, and power to enable affordable energy, economic growth, and innovation in renewable energy and chemicals production. The activities funded through this opportunity will be a component of the comprehensive U.S. energy strategy to enhance energy supply, create domestic jobs, secure the nation’s global leadership in bioenergy technologies and improve U.S. energy security.

This FOA will support high-impact technology research and development (R&D) to enable growth and innovation of the Bioeconomy. The topic areas will focus on BETO's objectives to reduce the minimum fuel selling price of drop-in biofuels, lower the cost of biopower, and enable high-value products from biomass or waste resources.

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

EERE plans to issue the FOA via the EERE Exchange website https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/. If applicants wish to receive official notifications and information from EERE regarding this FOA, they should register in EERE Exchange. When the FOA is released, applications will be accepted only through EERE Exchange.

Current recycling strategies often do not allow for cost-effective recycling of commonly used plastics. Typical recycling techniques can result in diminished material properties, which limit opportunities to produce products from recycled material with equal or greater value. However, there is an opportunity to advance new technologies that use recycled materials to reduce manufacturing energy consumption for some of the most prevalent plastics by up to 50 percent, including those used in grocery bags and beverage bottles.

BETO and AMO have identified significant potential to improve the carbon efficiency and energy efficiency of plastics recycling technologies. To achieve this, research is needed to:

- Develop novel polymers that are designed for infinite recyclability;

- Create innovative deconstruction pathways for existing polymers that generate high-value products; and

- Establish a consistent framework for evaluating carbon and energy efficiency across potential material flows and transformations.

Please see the full text of the Notice of Intent in the Documents section below.

EERE is issuing this notice so that interested parties are aware of the intent to issue a FOA in the near term. All of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change. EERE will not respond to questions concerning this Notice. Once the FOA has been released, EERE will provide an avenue for potential Applicants to submit questions.

EERE plans to issue the FOA in January 2020 via the EERE Exchange website https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/. Applicants who wish to receive official notifications and information from EERE regarding this FOA should register in EERE Exchange. After FOA release, EERE will accept applications only through EERE Exchange.

This request for information (RFI) seeks feedback on technologies to integrate and demonstrate advanced supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) Brayton power cycles that are indirectly heated via thermal energy storage at a turbine inlet temperature (TIT) range between 550 and 630°C. This request is focused on accelerating the commercialization of sCO₂ power cycles that are appropriate for near-term integration with concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP), at temperatures that do not require significant de-risking of the cost and performance of novel materials.

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to seek broad stakeholder input to inform the strategic direction of the DOE Lighting Research & Development (R&D) portfolio. The purpose of issuing this RFI is to better understand how lighting research goals can be refined to reflect evolving technology needs and to inform related R&D technologies. Specifically, the DOE EERE program is interested in gathering information relevant to four (4) different topic areas: (1) Identify impactful lighting R&D opportunities who immediate applications are beyond general illumination, but have potential to help save energy in the built environment; (2) Identify impactful lighting R&D opportunities within general illumination that are absent (or under-represented) in the 2018 DOE Solid-State Lighting (SSL) R&D Opportunities (RDO) document; (3) Validate the importance of existing R&D opportunities described in the RDO and provide additional context or support, and (4) Provide other comments or information that could improve the quality of the RDO or the general direction of the DOE Lighting R&D Program.

This is solely a request for information and is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). U.S. Department of Energy is not accepting applications to this RFI.

DE-FOA-0002165: Notice of Request for Information (RFI) on Water Security Grand Challenge Resource Recovery Prize

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment providing information and feedback on the design of a potential prize competition with a goal of increasing resource recovery from municipal wastewater treatment plants across the United States, and in so doing, lower the ultimate cost of treatment by extracting additional value from the wastewater (i.e., improve energy efficiency). Through this potential prize, DOE would seek novel, systems-based solutions from multidisciplinary teams to implement resource recovery at small-to-medium-sized wastewater treatment plants. Specifically, the intent is to encourage teams of wastewater treatment plants, engineering and design firms, technology developers, resource customers (e.g., farmers, electric and gas utilities), and others to develop holistic community and/or watershed-based resource recovery plans for their respective wastewater treatment systems. Input from this RFI may be used to further develop the competition objectives, rules, metrics, and incentives.

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 a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) based on consideration of the input received from this RFI.

For questions and answers pertaining to this RFI, please reference the DE-FOA-0002165 Water Recovery Prize FAQ Log in the Documents section.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to WaterResourceRecoveryPrize@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on October 23, 2019. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. Include Water Security Grand Challenge Resource Recovery Prize in the subject of the title. 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 20 pages in length, 12 point font, 1 inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

The U.S Department of Energy’s (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), State Energy Program (SEP) seeks information on organizations, including industry, academia, nonprofit organizations, and others, who are able to support state officials serving in the executive branch of state government; in particular, Governors and/or their designated energy representative(s). The desired outcome is to improve how DOE SEP delivers technical assistance that helps states improve the affordability, reliability, and resiliency of energy systems.

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, nonprofit organizations, and others that have extensive experience working with senior state officials, including Governors and/or their designated energy representative(s), serving the nation’s 55 states and territories. SEP is specifically interested in information on such organizations’ ability and experience in providing direct support to states through training on best practices and the development and dissemination of technical assistance programs. This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) is issuing this request for information (RFI) to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders. This RFI will inform SETO’s strategic planning on research related to the integration of distributed solar energy resources. Specifically, this RFI will inform strategies relating to the modeling, monitoring, predicting, and controlling of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. As the penetration of solar PV on the grid grows, these activities will become more important as grid operators consider how solar adoption impacts grid planning and operations technologies.

This is solely a request for information and not a funding opportunity announcement (FOA). No funding applications are being accepted in response to this RFI.

This RFI is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA); therefore, EERE is not accepting applications at this time. EERE may issue a FOA in the future based on or related to the content and responses to this RFI; however, EERE 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 EERE chooses to issue a FOA regarding the subject matter. Final details, including the anticipated award size, quantity, and timing of EERE funded awards, will be subject to Congressional appropriations and direction.

Any information obtained as a result of this RFI is intended to be used by the Government on a non-attribution basis for planning and strategy development; this RFI does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts. Your response to this notice will be treated as information only. EERE will review and consider all responses in its formulation of program strategies for the identified materials of interest that are the subject of this request. EERE will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this RFI. Respondents are advised that EERE is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. Responses to this RFI do not bind EERE to any further actions related to this topic.

To respond, please email your response to SETO.RFI.SI@ee.doe.gov no later than 12:00pm (ET) on August 30, 2019. Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically and 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 ten (10) pages in length, 12 point font, 1 inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on issues related to the growing Research and Development (R&D) interest in the use of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL’s) Marine Sciences Laboratory (MSL) facilities for renewable energy, maritime markets, and energy storage research, technology development and testing. This information will help DOE and PNNL prioritize resources and investments. This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to WPTORFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. on August 8, 2019. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

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. 

NOTICE: The submission deadline for Full Applications has been extended to 09/12/2019 at 5 PM ET. Expected submission deadline for Replies to Reviewer Comments has been extended to 10/23/219 at 5 PM ET. Please see updated Modification 0002 of the Funding Opportunity Announcement below for changes.

NOTICE: The submission deadline for Full Applications has been extended to 09/05/2019, 5:00pm ET. Please see updated Modification 0001 of the Funding Opportunity Announcement below for additional changes.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) supports federal investment in innovative, early-stage advanced manufacturing applied research and development (R&D) projects that focus on specific high-impact manufacturing technology, materials, and process challenges. The topics are aimed at foundational energy-related advanced manufacturing technologies that impact areas relevant to manufacturing processes (where energy costs are a determinant of competitive manufacturing) and broadly applicable platform technologies (the enabling base upon which other systems and applications can be developed). The competitively selected projects will focus on developing next-generation manufacturing material, information, and process technologies that improve energy efficiency in energy intensive and energy dependent processes.

With this FOA, the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) intends to fund high-impact, early to mid-stage research in the following topic areas:

Topic 1: Innovations for the Manufacture of Advanced Materials

Subtopic 1.1: Accelerate the Manufacturing Process Design and Development Cycle for Advanced Energy Conversion and Storage Materials

Subtopic 1.2: Innovative Manufacturing Processes for Battery Energy Storage

Subtopic 1.3: Materials and Manufacturing Process Development of Nanocrystalline Metal Alloys

Subtopic 1.4: Process-Informed Science, Design, and Engineering of Materials and Devices Operating in Harsh Service Conditions

Topic 2: Lower Thermal Budget (LTB) Processes for Industrial Efficiency & Productivity

Subtopic 2.1: Advances in Industrial and Process Drying

Subtopic 2.2: Thermal Process Intensification

Topic 3: Connected, Flexible and Efficient Manufacturing Facilities and Energy Systems

Subtopic 3.1: Medium-Voltage Power Conditioning Systems to Enable Grid-Dispatchable and Resilient Manufacturing Facilities

Subtopic 3.2: High Power to Heat Ratio, High Efficiency Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

Subtopic 3.3: Verification and Validation of CHP and District Energy

For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-FOA-0001980 AMO 2019 FAQ Log at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov.

EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FOA deadline: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist applicants in resolving issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in late submissions: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties so severe that they are unable to submit their application by the deadline, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist the applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing submission on behalf of and with the applicant’s concurrence). Please note, network traffic is at its heaviest during the final hours and minutes prior to submittal deadline. Applicants who experience this during the final hours or minutes and are unsuccessful in uploading documents will not be able to use this process.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will provide funding to address the highest priority R&D areas within biofuel technologies, bioproducts, and biopower. It includes Areas of Interest (AOIs) from all five BETO programs: Feedstock Supply and Logistics; Advanced Algal Systems; Conversion; Advanced Development and Optimization; and Sustainability and Strategic Analysis. Each AOI supports BETO’s objectives to reduce the minimum selling price of drop-in biofuels, lower the cost of biopower, enable high-value products from biomass or waste resources, and improve the quality of feedstock characterization and reliability of biorefinery operations.

Topics under this FOA include:

• AOI 1: Cultivation Intensification Processes for Algae
• AOI 2a: Relating Biomass Physical and Chemical Characteristics to Feedstock Performance in Handling and Conversion Operations
• AOI 2b: Impact of Storage and Handling on Biomass Characteristics
• AOI 2c: Improving Economics and Development of Coproducts
• AOI 3: Efficient Wood Heaters
• AOI 4: Systems Research of Hydrocarbon Biofuel Technologies
• AOI 5: Optimization of Bio-Derived Jet Fuel Blends
• AOI 6: Renewable Energy from Urban and Suburban Wastes
• AOI 7a: Advanced Bioprocessing
• AOI 7b: Agile BioFoundry
• AOI 8a: Designing Highly Recyclable Plastics
• AOI 8b: Designing Novel Methods for Deconstructing and Upcycling Existing Plastics
• AOI 9: Rethinking Anaerobic Digestion
• AOI 10: Reducing Water, Energy, and Emissions in Bioenergy

Please carefully review the complete Funding Opportunity Announcement, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

FOA Q&A can also be accessed under the "Documents" heading. Please review the Q&A before submitting a question, as a similar question may already have been answered.

To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE Exchange (this website), EERE’s online application portal.

The Exchange system enforces hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline should contact the Exchange Helpdesk for assistance at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov. Applicants are responsible for meeting each submission deadline. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their Concept Papers and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) Advanced Building Construction with Energy-Efficient Technologies & Practices (ABC) FOA supports research and development of solutions that can be applied to many segments of the building sector, including existing and new buildings, residential and commercial, and across multiple climate zones. BTO is seeking applications aimed at developing deep energy retrofit and new construction technologies that holistically tackle a combination of envelope, heating, cooling, water heating, and ventilation issues, and hold appeal for both building owners and occupants.

BTO is interested in three topic areas:

Topic 1: Integrated Building Retrofits

Topic 2: New Construction Technologies

Topic 3: Advanced Technology Integration

For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-FOA-0002099 ABC 2019 FAQ Log in the Documents section below.

Informational Webinar: A playback of the Informational Webinar mentioned in the FOA can be found by following this link:

https://doe.webex.com/doe/lsr.php?RCID=8bd63921da034e8996909acf73ffdab1

Passcode: 2019abcFOA 

A full transcript of the Informational Webinar can be found in the Documents section below.

The eXCHANGE system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of, and with the Applicant's concurrence). DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance; and c) has submitted the application through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the FOA's posted deadline.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Building Technologies Office (BTO). BTO’s overall goal is to improve the energy productivity of buildings without sacrificing occupant comfort or product performance. The goal is to use energy more productively and efficiently, not simply to use less energy. Progress towards achieving this goal will make building energy costs more affordable to the benefit of American families and businesses.

BTO research is focused on reducing energy intensity for major segments of the sector with the most opportunity for energy savings, while balancing the need to maintain occupant comfort and productivity, and product performance. This includes both new and existing buildings, both residential and commercial, including their energy-consuming and labor-saving equipment. The development of next-generation building technologies, including building materials, components, equipment, energy models and systems, is critical to increasing energy productivity in a cost-effective manner.

BTO’s Emerging Technologies (ET) program invests in the research and development to create the next-generation building technologies, tools and systems to enhance energy efficiency. The program focuses on the most energy-intensive technologies for residential buildings and in commercial buildings, where the opportunity for cost-effective energy savings is greatest. These technologies include air conditioning, space heating, water heating, lighting and sensors & controls, all of which are addressed in this FOA.

Achieving BTO’s priorities across the building technology landscape requires sustained, multifaceted innovation. With this FOA, BTO intends to fund high-impact, early-stage research in the following areas:

Topic 1: Flexible Building Technologies

Topic 2: Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Technologies

Topic 3: Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Technologies

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Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of, and with the Applicant's concurrence). DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance; and c) has submitted the applicant through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the FOA's posted deadline

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE), Building Technologies Office (BTO) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) on Research and Development Opportunities for Innovations in Sensors and Controls for Building Energy Management.

Through this RFI, BTO seeks input on its recently developed R&D opportunities document for the integration and optimization of systems at the whole-building level through connected and controllable loads for increased energy affordability, improved occupant comfort, and enhanced provision of grid services that will strengthen the integration between buildings, other distributed energy resources, and the electric grid. This document will inform BTO’s strategic planning moving forward in identifying early-stage and innovative technology solutions to meet these goals. Successful solutions will strengthen the affordability, reliability, and resiliency of the energy consumed by the buildings sector, contributing to DOE’s priorities for the energy sector as a whole.

Request for Information Categories:

Category 1: Multi-Functional Wireless Sensor Networks

Category 2: Advanced Monitoring and Data Analytics

Category 3: Adaptive and Autonomous Controls

Category 4: Occupant-Centric Controls

Category 5: Overarching Areas of Interest and Cross-cut Strategies

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on issues related to sensor and control technologies for optimizing building energy management. This information will be used by BTO to update its Sensors and Controls R&D strategy and supporting energy savings and cost reduction goals, as well as to inform future strategic planning and adjustments to its R&D portfolio. This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to BTO_SensorsControls_RDO@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on June 3, 2019. 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.

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 a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) based on consideration of the input received from this RFI.

The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) is seeking input from the public about its Research and Development Opportunities for Building Energy Modeling (BEM). In particular, BTO is interested in feedback on planned initiatives and their prioritization, on program scope, and on data-sets, metrics and targets for assessing program effectiveness and impact.

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on BTO’s BEM program and its future directions and priorities. To clarify these, BTO has developed a report that is structured around six focus areas (the BEM value proposition, predictive accuracy of BEM, core modeling capabilities, workflow integration and automation, the BEM data ecosystem, and BEM professionals). The report identifies barriers to the increased adoption of BEM and proposing a set of initiatives to address them. BTO is requesting feedback on each of these barriers, the associated initiatives, as well as barriers and initiatives that have not been identified. BTO is also requesting feedback on datasets, metrics, and targets for assessing the impact and progress of the BEM industry and its own BEM program.

Request for Information Categories:

Category 1: Metrics, benchmarks, targets, and data sets for tracking the use of BEM in various building energy building energy efficiency projects. Methods of attributing energy-efficiency to BEM in various applications.

Category 2: Focus areas

Category 3: Barriers

Category 4: Initiatives

Category 5: Stakeholder engagement and feedback mechanisms

Category 6: Other Feedback

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to BTO_BEM_RDO@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on June 3, 2019. 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.

This RFI is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA); therefore, EERE is not accepting applications at this time. EERE may issue a FOA in the future based on or related to the content and responses to this RFI; however, EERE 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 EERE chooses to issue a FOA regarding the subject matter. Final details, including the anticipated award size, quantity, and timing of EERE funded awards, will be subject to Congressional appropriations and direction.

BTO: 2019 National Laboratory Call for Core and Competed Activities

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Modification 001 (4-15-2019)

a) Provided additional guidance for proposal submission in Appendix B.3.

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The Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office (BTO) is seeking multi-year project proposals from national laboratories (“Labs”) for activities to incorporate into the Annual Operating Plans (AOPs). Updates to the Lab Call will be announced on EERE Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ .

For some topics, only specific DOE/NNSA Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and specific DOE Government-Operated Government-Owned laboratories (GOGOs) are eligible to apply for funding as a prime recipient. All DOE laboratories are listed on http://energy.gov/offices under the heading “Labs and Technology Centers.” Only proposals for which the identified DOE national laboratory is the prime applicant will be considered for funding. Prime recipients are encouraged to form teams with other labs and to include other entities as sub-recipients.

Topics of Interest:

Appendix A: Core R&D Topics

A.1. Sensors & Controls:

A.1.1. Sensor and Meter Data Collection and Integration for Building Applications

A.1.2. Automated Fault Detection and Diagnostics (AFDD)

A.1.3. Predictive and Adaptive Controls Testing and Validation

A.2. Indoor Air Quality

A.2.1. Multi-Zone Building Ventilation

A.2.2. Air Sealing and Ventilation Research for Residential Retrofits

Appendix B: Competed R&D Topics

B.1. Building Energy Modeling:

B.1.1. Empirical Validation of Energy Simulation

B.1.2. A Simplified Performance Rating Method for (Small) Commercial Buildings

B.2. Advanced Residential Ventilation Technologies

B.2.1. Advanced Residential Ventilation Technologies

B.3. Solid State Lighting

B.3.1. Open Lighting Topic

Informational Webinar: The Informational Webinar mentioned in the Lab Call is scheduled for April 11th, 2019 at 3:00PM ET.

To Register/Join, go here:

https://doe.webex.com/doe/onstage/g.php?MTID=e37ce8d209d9cdd5f9822c47d63c61c98

• US Toll: +1-415-527-5035
• Access Code: 909 365 359
• Event password: BTOLC2019

For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-LC-000L070 BTO Lab CAll 2019 FAQ Log in "Questions and Answers" tab on Exchange.

The eXCHANGE system is designed to enforce hard deadlines for submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of, and with the Applicant's concurrence). DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance; and c) has submitted the application through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the FOA's posted deadline.

Modification 0003 has been made to this FOA to change "two (2)Budget Periods are anticipated", to "one (1) Budget Period is anticipated" FOA AOI 4, within Section II.A.ii. of the FOA. See "FOA 2080 WPTO Research Mod 0003" under the "Documents" heading below.

Modification 0002 has been made to this FOA to make corrections in Section I B AOI 3 on page 41. See "FOA 2080 WPTO Research Mod 0002" under the "Documents" heading below.

Modification 0001 has been made to this FOA to correct the AOI 3 and AOI 4 Specific Technical Volume information on pages 76 and 77.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Water Power Technologies Office 2019 Research Funding Opportunity.” This FOA addresses priorities in the following Areas of Interest:

Area of Interest 1: Hydropower Operational Flexibility

Area of Interest 1a: Quantify Hydropower Capabilities for Operational Flexibility

Area of Interest 1b: Operational Strategies for Increasing Hydropower Flexibility

Area of Interest 2: Low-Head Hydropower and In-Stream Hydrokinetic Technologies

Area of Interest 2a: Modular Technologies for Low-Head Hydropower Applications

Area of Interest 2b: Modular Technologies for River Current Energy Converter Applications

Area of Interest 3: Advancing Wave Energy Device Design

Area of Interest 4: Marine Energy Centers Research Infrastructure Upgrades

Please carefully review the complete FOA, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

FOA Q&A can also be accessed under the "Documents" heading. Please review the Q&A before submitting a question, as a similar question may already have been answered.

An informational webinar was held on April 11, 2019 at 12:00 PM EST. A copy of the webinar PowerPoint presentation can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below; recording is available at https://youtu.be/s2LpyJsUfzM

Please note the "Submission Deadlines" below. The EERE Exchange system is designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants. Applicants are encouraged to submit Concept Papers and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the related Submission Deadline. For this FOA, Applicants must submit a Concept Paper by the stated deadline in order to be eligible to submit a Full Application.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the Exchange Helpdesk for assistance at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov.

DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) will award up to $7M for projects that advance geothermal development by addressing two significant barriers: understanding subsurface state of stress and managing lost circulation events in drilling. Improved understanding of the stress state in geothermal fields will lead to significant cost reductions at several stages of the development cycle, including improved drilling success rates and sustainability of reservoirs over time. Improved knowledge of subsurface stress has the potential to improve both well targeting and reservoir sustainability – two primary drivers of cost. Another challenge that can contribute to the high cost of reservoir access is the loss of fluids to surrounding rock during drilling, or lost circulation events (LCEs). Because geothermal drilling operations tend to target zones of highly fractured and altered material, lost circulation is more common in geothermal drilling than in other applications and can represent 20% of the costs for exploratory wells and reservoir development. Effective assessment of the subsurface stress and being able to mitigate and manage lost circulation events are critical to improving the efficiency of geothermal energy development and ultimately can play a major role in increasing domestic energy affordability. With this funding opportunity, GTO is seeking to sponsor early-stage R&D that will advance the state of the art in each of these related areas.

The full Funding Opportunity Announcement is published at EERE-Exchange.energy.gov.

For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-FOA-0002083: Subsurface Stress and Lost Circulation in Geothermal Drilling FAQ Log in FOA Documents.

The eXCHANGE system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions.

The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.

The FOA has been modified to:

1) Revise the eligibility information for applications under Area of Interest 4 on page 21 to remove the requirement that the prime recipient must perform more than 50% of the project work, as measured by the Total Project Costs; and

2) Revise and clarify required LCOE analysis and include additional detail on assumptions in Appendix H – Guidelines for Tall Tower Estimates.

The FOA was previously modified (002) to extend the FOA closing date and Expected Date for EERE Selection Notifications from 6/17/2019 to 7/1/2019 and August 2019 to September 2019, respectively.

The FOA was also previously modified (001) to correct the maximum funding amount for Subtopic 2a on page 10.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Wind EnergyTechnologies Office (WETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Wind Energy Technologies Office Funding Opportunity Announcement.”

This FOA consists of four Areas of Interest and will provide $28.1M in federal funding for innovative wind energy technologies research and development including land-based, distributed, and offshore applications.

1) Wind Innovations for Rural Economic Development (WIRED)

Subtopic 1a: Fully integrated distributed wind research and development (R&D) innovations to enhance resilience and reliability

Subtopic 1b: Balance of system cost reduction through standardization

2) Utilizing and Upgrading National-Level Facilities for Offshore Wind R&D

Subtopic 2a: R&D utilizing existing national-level offshore wind testing facilities

Subtopic 2b: R&D requiring upgrades to existing national offshore wind testing facilities

3) Project Development for Offshore Wind Technology Demonstrations

4) Tall Towers for U.S. Wind Power

Please carefully review the complete FOA, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

FOA Q&A can also be accessed under the "Documents" heading. Please review the Q&A before submitting a question, as a similar question may already have been answered.

Please note the "Submission Deadlines" below. The EERE Exchange system is designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants. Applicants are encouraged to submit Concept Papers and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the related Submission Deadline.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the Exchange Helpdesk for assistance at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov

Modification 00003 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00003 are highlighted in blue.

Modification 00002 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00002 are highlighted in green.

Modification 00001 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00001 are highlighted in yellow.

The Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) works across the solar energy technology spectrum with the goal of improving the affordability, reliability, and performance of solar technologies on the grid. Ensuring that more Americans can benefit from the declining costs of solar is one of SETO's primary goals, which support early-stage research, development, and demonstration of solar technologies. Achieving SETO's priorities across the solar energy technology landscape requires sustained, multifaceted innovation. With this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the office intends to fund high-impact, early-stage research in the following areas:

Topic Area 1: Photovoltaics Research and Development

Topic Area 2: Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power Research and Development

Topic Area 3: Balance of Systems Soft Costs Reduction

Topic Area 4: Innovations in Manufacturing: Hardware Incubator

Topic Area 5: Advanced Solar Systems Integration Technologies

Teaming Partner List: See “Teaming Partner List Instructions” under the Documents Section for more information about the SETO teaming partner list.

Links to the recorded webinars are below. The password for each webinar is Setofoa2019. The recordings must be viewed in a browser other than Internet Explorer.

SETO FY 2019 FUNDING OPPORTUNITY - OVERVIEW

Topic Area 1- PHOTOVOLTAICS

Topic Area 2 - CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER - Due to an unfortunate technical error, the CSP webinar recording and webinar transcript will not be posted on Exchange. See the Documents section below for a copy of the CSP presentation slides.

Topic Area 3 - SOFT COSTS

Topic Area 4 - INNOVATIONS IN MANUFACTURING

Topic Area 5 - SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

Applicants should note that the SAM registration and renewal process has been updated recently and now requires applicants to mail a notarized letter to the SAM processing office in London, KY. The letter must formally identify an Entity Administrator for each applicant. This additional step can result in longer processing times.

For questions and answers, please refer to the FOA Q and A spreadsheet under Documents.