Funding Opportunity Announcements

Note:  Pre-Application review has been completed.  Applicants can now check their submission status (Invited or Not Invited).  Those Applicants who are Invited may begin submitting their full application.

 The U.S. Department of Energy seeks to fund revolutionary, exploratory research to create highly disruptive solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies that will meet $1 per watt and lower installed system cost targets beyond the end of this decade.  The Transformational PV Science and Technology: Next Generation Photovoltaics II Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) intends to support research into technologies that have the potential for much higher efficiency, lower cost, and/or more reliable performance than existing commercial and near-commercial photovoltaics and their expected incremental progress in future years.  As part of the SunShot Initiative, this early-stage applied research program is intended to demonstrate and prove new concepts in materials, processes, and device designs to feed into component development at the laboratory scale, with subsequent component integration, engineering scale-up, and eventual commercial production.  Selected projects will have as a goal the proof-of-concept of novel materials, processes, or architectures as applied to a photovoltaic device.  This FOA is designed to look beyond incremental near-term innovation and explore transformative concepts with the potential to break through performance barriers as we know them today.

Note:  Full Application review has been completed and selections have been announced.  Applicants can now check their selection status and view consensus merit review strengths and weaknesses in Exchange.

The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to fund projects that develop technologies in power electronics that reduce the overall photovoltaic (PV) system costs, allow high penetrations of solar technologies onto the grid (e.g. reactive power, energy storage, advanced functionalities), and enhance the performance, reliability, and safety of the PV system.  In addition, projects funded under this FOA will demonstrate the feasibility of these technologies in the field and will directly support the objectives of the SunShot Initiative, which has a goal to reduce the total costs (including installer margin) of solar energy systems by about 75 percent before the end of the decade and to make solar competitive with conventional fossil-fuel sourced generation.

DOE has identified several major areas where significant cost reductions in power electronics can be made including:  1) economies of scale; 2) advanced components; 3) reliability; 4) smart grid integration and 5) understanding of system implications.  The DOE also is considering how changes in power electronics impact the cost of the PV system as a whole.

DOE anticipates that the U.S. Solar Industry can reach the aggressive SunShot targets by focusing on both power electronics research and in technologies more specific to grid-connected, photovoltaic systems. 

There are two topics to which an application may be submitted under this FOA:

• Topic 1: Smart-Grid Functionality
• Topic 2: Using Power Electronics to Address Balance of System Costs

Note:  Concept Paper review has been completed.  Applicants can now check their submission status (Encouraged or Discouraged).  Applicants may begin submitting their full application. 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) seeks to fund applied scientific research that provides the technical foundation for significant increases in solar photovoltaic (PV) cell efficiency, to enable commercial and near-commercial PV technologies to achieve $1 per watt installed system cost targets by the end of the decade.  Combined with the technical and funding resources from the National Science Foundation (NSF), this joint Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the “Foundational Program to Advance Cell Efficiency” (F-PACE) will identify and fund solar device physics and photovoltaic technology research and development that will improve PV cell performance and reduce module cost for grid-scale commercial applications.  Projects funded under this FOA are intended to address identified cost and efficiency barriers through advances in the PV science knowledge base, improved materials and processes for PV cell components, and innovative approaches for closing the gap between production cell efficiency and laboratory cell efficiency, and between laboratory cell efficiency and the theoretical maximum.  These goals jointly support the missions of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP) and the NSF Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) Division.  Through this FOA, ECCS and SETP intend to jointly pursue foundational research into PV cell and sub-cell technology to support the Sunshot initiative, which has a goal to reduce the cost of solar electricity from solar by 75% over the next decade to make it competitive with conventional fossil-fuel sourced generation.  

There will be three topics to which an application may be submitted under this FOA:

• Topic 1: Foundational Research on PV Sub-cell Materials and Processes
• Topic 2: Foundational PV Cell Research
• Topic 3: Barrier Focus Teams

Note:  Full Application review has been completed and selections have been announced.  Applicants can check their selection status and view consensus merit review strengths and weaknesses in Exchange.

The purpose of amendment 001 is to:

A) Update the Cost Impact tables in Section I Funding Opportunity Description, on pages 9-11, to clarify the cost components for electrical and hardware labor.

All other parts of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) remain unchanged.

The areas which have changed with this modification are highlighted within the FOA. 

The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to significantly reduce the balance of system hardware cost component of Photovoltaic (PV) systems.  This FOA directly supports the goals of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP) and the SunShot Initiative, which has a goal to reduce the total cost (including installer margin) of solar energy systems by about 75 percent before the end of the decade.  Under this FOA, DOE  is requesting applications for research, development, and demonstration of new components and system designs or the development of new building code language to overcome scientific,  technological, and engineering barriers to achieving safe, very low cost, and high reliability balance of system hardware.  While this FOA is meant to mainly address hardware and labor costs and not “soft” costs, advancements in hardware that may result in lower soft costs (permitting, site preparation, etc.) are encouraged. 

There are four topics to which an application may be submitted under this FOA:

• Topic 1:  Transformational Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) Modules
• Topic 2:  Roof and Ground Mount Innovations 
• Topic 3:  Transformational Photovoltaic System Designs
• Topic 4:  Development of New Wind Load Codes for PV Systems

Note:  Only those applicants who successfully submitted a Letter of Intent by June 9, 2011 are eligible to submit a Full Application to this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to significantly reduce market barriers and the balance of system non-hardware cost components of Photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Under this FOA, DOE intends to support software and database development, advance the utility and regulatory environment and simplify and streamline the process of installing solar systems.

There are three main topics to which an application may be submitted under this FOA:

Topic 1:  Codes, Standards and Processes

Topic 2:  Software Design Tools and Databases

• Sub-Topic 2A: Utility-Scale Project Siting Tool
• Sub-Topic 2B: Plug-and-Play Tools to Facilitate Preparation and Review of Permit Applications
• Sub-Topic 2C: Database of PV Permitting Processes in Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)
• Sub-Topic 2D: PV System Verification Tool
• Sub-Topic 2E: Utility Rates Database 

Topic 3:  Regulatory and Utility Solutions 

Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), DOE intends to partner with one recipient who will host the 2013 Solar Decathlon to promote the Mission and Goals of the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Through this event, the recipient will promote the outreach, education and economic benefits of energy security, renewable energy and energy efficiency by demonstrating EERE Technology that can effectively be deployed in the community. By showcasing these technologies, this event should help launch additional workforce development and renewable energy activities in the local area that hosts the Decathlon. In addition to the benefits of increased public awareness, this event should stimulate the local economy by bringing in tourism dollars from those attending the event. This Funding Opportunity seeks to select a recipient that will form a partnership that includes a city, state or local government that will work together to host the 2013 Solar Decathlon.

The goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Geothermal Technology Advancement for Rapid Development of Resources in the U.S.” is to advance the Geothermal Technologies Program's (GTP) mission of researching, developing, and validating cost-competitive technologies and tools to accelerate the growth of geothermal energy in the United States.  This FOA will advance the Department of Energy’s (DOE) mission by partnering with industry, academia and the national laboratories to discover new geothermal resources, develop innovative methods, and demonstrate high-impact technologies.  This FOA directly supports the goals of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Under this FOA, DOE is requesting applications that address key cost, technical, and risk barriers and advance geothermal energy development, working toward the Program goal of accelerating the development and use of geothermal energy.  Projects should propose ideas to advance current drilling, reservoir engineering, and characterization technologies in order to identify and develop sustainable reservoirs at lower costs.

There will be six topic areas to which an application may be submitted under this FOA:

• Topic 1: Advanced Exploratory Drilling Technologies

• Topic 2: Advanced Well Completion Technologies

• Topic 3: Zonal Isolation

• Topic 4: Observation Tools and Data Collection System for Reservoir Stimulation

• Topic 5: Geophysical Exploration Technologies

• Topic 6: Geochemistry/Rock-Fluid Interactions

The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for a Rooftop Solar Challenge is to achieve measurable improvements in market conditions for rooftop photovoltaic across the United States, with an emphasis on streamlined and standardized permitting and interconnection processes.  DOE anticipates providing up to $12.5M to up to 25 awardees to accomplish the goals of this funding opportunity.  This FOA directly supports the goals of the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Solar Energy Technologies Program and the SunShot Initiative.

This FOA will take a phased approach addressing four main action areas (listed below), designed so that awardees that succeed in all action areas will have the necessary policy and process framework in place to support a robust solar market in their region:

·         Permitting and Interconnection Processes

·         Net Metering and Interconnection Standards

·         Financing Options

·         Planning and Zoning

For information about the SunShot Initiative: Rooftop Solar Challenge to Induce Market Transformation FOA webinars, please visit www.solar.energy.gov/challenge.

The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is achieve cost reduction of solid-state lighting for general illumination through improvements in manufacturing equipment, processes, or techniques.  It is anticipated that success will lead to a more rapid adoption/installation of high-quality SSL products resulting in a significant reduction of energy use and a corresponding reduction of environmental pollutants.  A secondary objective is to maintain, in the case of light emitting diodes (LEDs), or establish, in the case of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), the manufacturing and technology base within the US.

The Program Areas of Interest for this Announcement include topics for LED and OLED technologies.  Improvements to cost-influencing metrics through the proposed approach shall not come at the expense of product performance metrics such as efficacy or color quality. 

Program Area of Interest 1:  Luminaire/Module Manufacturing

Program Area of Interest 2:  Test and Inspection Equipment

Program Area of Interest 3:  OLED Deposition Equipment

Program Area of Interest 4:  OLED Materials Manufacturing

The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to develop or improve commercially viable materials, devices, or systems for solid state lighting general illumination applications. Specific emphasis shall be on achieving the performance and cost goals stated in the 2011 Multi Year Program for Solid State Lighting Research and Development which can be found at http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/ssl_mypp2011_web.pdf.  This document can also be found as an attachment to this Announcement.  Potential Applicants are strongly encouraged to review and understand the 2011 MYPP.  Successful approaches shall demonstrate a technology path that moves beyond the current performance levels detailed in the MYPP towards the future performance targets identified for the respective priority metric.   There are five areas of interest to which an application may be submitted under this FOA: 

Area of Interest 1:  Light Emitting Diodes Substrate Development

Area of Interest 2:  Light Emitting Diodes Package Architecture

Area of Interest 3:  Novel Light Emitting Diodes Luminaire Systems

Area of Interest 4:  Large Area Organic Light Emitting Diodes

Area of Interest 5:  Organic Light Emitting Diodes Panel Outcoupling

The goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to focus on applied research for technology development, with particular emphasis on meeting efficiency, performance, and cost targets.  Specific emphasis shall be on achieving the performance and cost goals stated in the 2011 Multi-Year Program Plan (http:/apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/ssl_mypp2011_web.pdf) for Solid-State Lighting Research and Development.  This document can also be found as an attachment to this Announcement.  Successful approaches shall demonstrate a technology path that moves beyond the current performance levels detailed in the 2011 MYPP towards the future performance targets identified for the respective priority metric.

There will be four areas of interest to which an application may be submitted under this FOA:

Area of Interest 1:  (Light Emitting Diode) Emitter Materials Research

Area of Interest 2:  (Light Emitting Diode) Down-converters

Area of Interest 3:  Novel Organic Light Emitting Diodes Materials and Structures

Area of Interest 4:  (Organic Light Emitting Diode) Light Extraction Approaches

     The U.S. Department of Energy is requesting applications for the first industrial scale demonstration of the applicant's photovoltaic (PV) module, cells, substrates, or module components that will achieve lower cost per watt. The applicant needs to demonstrate lower cost targets over the next two years than the current market leading technology and enable the path to $1/watt system costs by 2020.

     Significant non-Federal cost share is required, to be achieved in partnership with private capital and state and regional funds. This funding opportunity will address the currently unfulfilled and urgent need for a significant investment to assist the first industrial scale manufacturing of a new PV technology.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) seeks to fund revolutionary applied scientific research that develops highly disruptive Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies that will meet 6¢/kWh cost target by the end of the decade.  This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for “SunShot Concentrating Solar Power Research and Development” intends to support research into technologies that have the potential for much higher efficiency, lower cost, and/or more reliable performance than existing commercial and near-commercial CSP systems and their expected incremental progress in future years.  As part of the SunShot Initiative, this applied research program is intended to demonstrate and prove new concepts in the collector, receiver, and power cycle subsystems, including associated hardware.  These developments should lead to subsequent system integration, engineering scale-up, and eventual commercial production for electricity generation applications.  The SunShot CSP program is designed to look beyond incremental near-term innovation and explore transformative concepts with the potential to break through performance barriers as known today, such as efficiency and temperature limitations.  These goals support the mission of the DOE SunShot Initiative.

There are four topics to which an application may be submitted under this FOA:

• Topic 1: Advanced Collectors
• Topic 2: Advanced Receivers
• Topic 3: Advanced Power Cycles
• Topic 4: Seedling CSP Concepts

• Please check this website to make sure you have the appropriate system requirements needed to join the webinar: http://www.gotomeeting.com/fec/webinar/webinar_support.

• Register at:  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/335894520.  Once submitted, the participant will receive an automated email with the webinar address.   

• Audio is available through the Internet (headset/speakers) and over the phone.  You will be able to access audio through the Webinar pop up.  Clicking on Telephone will display the call-in number, which is also found in the registration confirmation email.

Using hydrogen, fuel cells can lead to substantial energy savings and reductions in imported petroleum and carbon emissions.  To realize these benefits, DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Program focuses on funding fuel cell research and development (R&D) and technology validation activities supporting a portfolio of fuel cell and hydrogen fuel technologies and applications.  This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), which specifically supports the Technology Validation subprogram, will test, demonstrate, and validate hydrogen refueling components and complete systems in real-world operating environments.  Feedback will be provided to the DOE hydrogen and fuel cell R&D projects, industry partners, and end users to help determine what additional R&D is required to move the technology forward.  Projects resulting from this FOA will include hydrogen refueling station data collection and demonstration of advanced refueling components needed to support fuel cell applications.

With this FOA, DOE is accepting new applications for projects seeking to validate hydrogen technologies in the specific topic areas listed below.  Only applications that are responsive to one of these topic areas will be accepted, and only one topic area may be addressed per application.  The objective of each proposed project must be to test, demonstrate, and validate hydrogen technologies in real-world environments.  R&D of these technologies is not the focus of this effort and will not be funded through this announcement, except as described in the FOA for Topic Area 2 only.

Topic Area 1: Hydrogen Refueling Station Data Collection

Topic Area 2: Validation of Advanced Refueling Components

This is a Request for Information (RFI). DOE may issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) as described herein, may issue a FOA that is significantly different than the FOA described herein or DOE may issue no FOA at all.  

The Department of Energy (DOE) is requesting information from hydropower owners, operators, project and technology developers, equipment manufacturers, consultants and other stakeholders concerning the identification of efficiency, capacity and water utilization improvements at existing U.S. hydropower facilities.   DOE estimates that approximately 8 to 16 GW of additional capacity and approximately 55 TWh of annual generation can be added through cost effective and sustainable upgrades at existing hydropower facilities.  DOE has developed the Hydropower Advancement Project (HAP) to support development of this resource.

DOE is seeking suggestions and comments on the objectives, rationale, methodology and execution of the HAP as described in this Request for Information (RFI).  These comments will assist DOE in the refinement of this initiative and the underlying methodology.

All responses to this RFI must be delivered electronically in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format as an attachment to an email sent to the following email address: HAPHydroRFI@go.doe.gov

This is a Request for Information (RFI). DOE may issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) as described herein, may issue a FOA that is significantly different than the FOA described herein or DOE may issue no FOA at all.

The SunShot Initiative is investigating the development of transformational Plug and Play technologies and systems to reduce the so-called soft costs of the Balance of System, which include permitting, inspection, and grid interconnection.  When installing a PV system is as simple as plugging an appliance into a wall outlet, the residential PV market will grow at an accelerated rate, both due to the simplicity of installation and the associated reduction in cost of the overall system. The potential funding opportunity will address the process-related issues and barriers by taking a fresh look at the grid and distributed PV systems as a whole and exploring new technology pathways to reduce total system costs and ease installation. The topic areas cover, but are not limited to, PV module technology, power electronics design, grid integration approaches, racking hardware design, and system installation process. Respondents are asked to comment on the questions in the RFI (see document under "FOA Documents" below).  Respondents are also encouraged to comment on the value of the anticipated Plug and Play PV systems, as well as your organization’s anticipated interest in participating in such an opportunity.

All responses to this RFI must be delivered electronically in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format as an attachment to an email sent to the following email address: PlugandPlayRFI@go.doe.gov. 

This is a Request for Information (RFI). DOE may issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) as described herein, may issue a FOA that is significantly different than the FOA described herein or DOE may issue no FOA at all.

With the integration of high penetrations of variable renewable energy sources quickly becoming a reality for many utilities, and increases in roof-top and distribution solar energy systems the SunShot Initiative is examining how to improve the accuracy of solar forecasting models.  Accurate solar forecasts are essential for the power system operator to ensure grid reliability, and also important for solar power plant owners to minimize deviations from bids made in the power market and reduce operating costs.  In addition, the SunShot Initiative is looking to establish by consensus, uniform and comprehensive metrics to measure the accuracy of solar forecasting.   Respondents are asked to comment on the questions in the RFI (see document under "FOA Documents" below).  Respondents are also encouraged to comment on the importance of accurate forecasting and universal metrics, as well as your organization’s anticipated interest in participating in a possible FOA opportunity.

All responses to this RFI must be delivered electronically in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format as an attachment to an email sent to the following email address:  SolarForecasting@go.doe.gov

The purpose of this FOA is to fund a Critical Materials Energy Innovation Hub to reduce materials criticality and prevent criticality of new materials that are essential for energy technologies. The Critical Materials Hub will coordinate Research and Development across the entire materials lifecycle. Research and Development will combine basic and applied research with engineering to accelerate scientific discovery utilizing highly collaborative teams across multiple scientific and engineering disciplines. The initial award period is for five years. The Hub will be funded up to a total of $20 million in the first year; up to $10 million of those funds can be devoted to infrastructure start-up for the Hub, including building renovation (but not new construction), lease arrangements, equipment, and instrumentation. It is anticipated that the Hub will be funded up to $25 million per year for Hub operations in the final four years of the initial award period, pending Congressional appropriations.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only.  DOE 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.  DOE may or may not issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) based on consideration of the input received from this RFI. 

Availability of population-size datasets and powerful computational tools is revolutionizing the study of technology evolution and technology diffusion.  The SunShot Initiative seeks to examine how breakthroughs can be practically applied to accelerate the rates of solar energy technology evolution and deployment.  This RFI (see document under "FOA Documents" below) describes a structure for a potential funding opportunity that is intended overcome the key challenges in pursuing these lines of investigation, including requirements for access to relevant data sources, multidisciplinary involvement, and executing pilot experiments.  Respondents are asked to comment on the questions in the RFI.  Respondents are encouraged to comment on the efficacy of the anticipated funding opportunity in achieving the SunShot cost-reduction targets and to comment on their interests in participating in such an opportunity.

All responses to this RFI must be delivered electronically in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format as an attachment to an email sent to the following email address: SunShot.SEEDS-RFI@go.doe.gov.  Emails should have the subject line “SEEDS RFI Response”.

Please note, the application due date has been extended to July, 20, 2012. 

With this FOA, DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Program seeks applications for projects to demonstrate and deploy fuel cell hybrid ground support equipment (GSE) vehicles at airport and/or air freight distribution center sites. Packaged solutions for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems (5 to 20 kW) fueled by hydrogen with the ability to power a baggage tow tractor with 3,000 to 6,000 pounds (1,362 to 2,722 kg) towing capability for a minimum of 10 hours of continuous operation and 5000 total hours are sought.  Applications must focus on developing, deploying, and validating systems in the field under real world operating conditions. The target market is commercial airports and air freight distribution centers used by passenger airlines and air freight industries. Approximately $2,500,000 in FY 2012 DOE funding is expected to be available for new awards under this announcement. DOE anticipates making 1-3 awards under this announcement depending on the size of the awards.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only, issued solely for information and program planning purposes; this RFI does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts. Your response to this notice will be treated as information only. DOE will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this RFI. Respondents are advised that DOE 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 DOE to any further actions related to this topic.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Fuel Cell Technologies Program, is issuing a RFI seeking input from stakeholders on the proposed performance, durability, and cost targets for hydrogen storage sub-systems designed for material handling and portable power fuel cell applications. Comments on the relevance and appropriateness of the suggested target values, including recommendations and justification for any targets that are not currently addressed are sought.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is currently requesting information and feedback from interested parties on its interest in future work for fenestration attachment energy rating and labeling efforts. DOE is considering a future Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) regarding this topic and seeks input from stakeholders on the appropriate scope and details regarding the potential FOA.

This Request for Information (RFI) is not a FOA; therefore the DOE is not accepting applications for funding regarding this topic at this time and may not issue a FOA as a result of this RFI.

Any questions concerning the content of this RFI must be sent to the following email address: BTPFenCert@go.doe.gov. Emails should have the subject line "Question." 

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only.  This notice does not consitute a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).  No applications or proposals are currently being sought or considered for this activity.

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) SunShot Initiative seeks feedback from installers; utilities; manufacturers; state, municipal, and local governments; financial institutions; and other stakeholders to better understand the potential to dramatically drive down the price of residential solar energy systems. Answers to the following open-ended questions (see full document under "FOA Documents" below) will provide DOE with sufficient background information to potentially design a funding opportunity, competition, challenge, or race to accelerate widespread solar deployment. The purpose of this RFI is solely to solicit input for SunShot's consideration to inform the possible future formulation of SunShot activities.