Notice of Intent: Energy Infrastructure Deployment on Tribal Lands - 2020 | DE FOA 0002316

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002316

The Department of Energy (DOE), through its Office of Indian Energy, issued this Notice of Intent (NOI) to signal that it planned to release a formal funding opportunity for energy infrastructure projects on Tribal Lands in 2020. The program is rooted in the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self Determination Act of 2005 (part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005), which directs DOE to support tribal energy planning and deployment efforts that promote tribal energy development and efficiency, reduce and stabilize energy costs, strengthen tribal energy and economic infrastructure, and expand access to reliable electric power and service for tribal members on Indian lands. In practical terms, the NOI frames the upcoming funding as part of DOE's broader effort to move real projects into the ground while also building the technical capacity of Tribes and tribal entities to sustain those projects over time.

The planned Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), referenced as DE-FOA-0002317 (with the NOI itself listed under DE-FOA-0002316), was expected to solicit grant applications focused on deployment rather than early-stage research. DOE indicated it intended to make multiple financial assistance awards in the form of grants. While the specific funding levels and number of awards were not finalized in the NOI, the source data lists an award ceiling of 2 (as posted in the notice record) and notes that the expected awards were not specified at the NOI stage. The performance period for any eventual awards was anticipated to be roughly one to two years for project execution, with a hard cap of three years total, and it explicitly included a mandatory 12-month verification period. That verification requirement signals DOE's emphasis on measured results and confirmation that systems were installed and performing as proposed, not just planned or procured.

Eligibility, as described in the narrative, was aimed squarely at tribal governments and tribal entities. DOE stated it planned to solicit applications from Indian Tribes, including Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village Corporations (collectively treated as "Indian Tribes" for this purpose), as well as Intertribal Organizations and Tribal Energy Development Organizations. The listing data also labels eligible applicants as "unrestricted" with the caveat that eligibility is subject to clarification in the full text, which in this case points back to the tribal-specific applicant categories described above. The administering agency listed is the Department of Energy, Golden Field Office, and the program is associated with CFDA number 81.087 under the energy funding activity category.

DOE laid out four topic areas to indicate what kinds of projects it expected to fund under the forthcoming FOA. Topic Area 1 focused on tribal buildings and would support installing energy generating systems and/or energy efficiency measures for those buildings. Topic Area 2 shifted from individual buildings to community-scale efforts, supporting deployment of larger energy generating systems or energy storage located on Tribal Lands. Topic Area 3 emphasized resilience and emergency preparedness by supporting integrated energy systems capable of autonomous operation, meaning systems that can operate independent of the traditional centralized grid to keep one or more essential tribal facilities powered during emergencies or to improve community resilience more generally. Topic Area 4 addressed electrification directly, supporting deployment of energy infrastructure or integrated energy systems to electrify tribal buildings. Across these topic areas, the common thread is implementation: deploying generation, efficiency upgrades, storage, and resilient microgrid-type solutions that can reduce costs, improve reliability, and expand access.

This NOI also included several important process notes that matter for anyone tracking or preparing for the opportunity. First, it was not an open application announcement and DOE explicitly stated that no applications would be accepted through the NOI. Second, DOE stated that the information in the NOI was subject to change, and it would not respond to questions about the NOI itself. Instead, DOE indicated that once the FOA was released, it would provide a formal channel for submitting questions. Third, DOE said it planned to issue the FOA around March or April 2020 and that the FOA would be posted on the EERE Exchange platform, with applications accepted only through that site. For notifications, DOE directed interested parties to subscribe to the Office of Indian Energy email list. Finally, DOE emphasized the conditional nature of the notice: it could issue a FOA as described, issue one that differed significantly, or decide not to issue a FOA at all.

In short, this NOI was an early alert about a forthcoming DOE grant program aimed at accelerating energy generation, efficiency, storage, resilience, and electrification projects on Tribal Lands, with eligibility centered on Tribes and tribal organizations, grants anticipated to run up to three years including a year of verification, and applications to be submitted only through EERE Exchange once the official FOA was released.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent: Energy Infrastructure Deployment on Tribal Lands - 2020" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 05, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Not Applicable for Notice of Intent. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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