Awards resulting from the FOA will focus on enhancing MSI programs to help foster a sustainable and diverse DOE Environmental Management (EM) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce pipeline. The awards will also aid in promoting the development of a nationally engaged scientific and engineering workforce that will lead to future career pathways in the DOE EM complex for underrepresented groups. The total estimated value of the FOA is $24,500,000 and resulting financial assistance awards will have periods of performance ranging from 12-36 months.

EPA anticipates awarding approximately $400 million in Clean School Bus (CSB) funding under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), subject to the availability of funds, the quantity and quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. To ensure a healthy grant competition, this NOFO includes two sub-programs, one for school district and Tribal applicants (School District Sub-program) and one for thirdparty applicants (Third-Party Sub-program) to serve at least four school district beneficiaries. EPA is providing two separate competitions under this single NOFO to address the unique needs and concerns of diverse recipients and encourage participation in the CSB grants program.

This FOA will fund research in three (3) Topics Areas that develop technologies to address emerging challenges and enhance the benefits of variable renewable energy sources (VRE), inverter-based resources (IBR), and distributed energy resources (DER), in utility long-term planning activities and the daily operation of the grid. The new state-of-the-art planning and operations tools developed under this FOA will enable solar energy to be more optimally utilized over time and allow it to be utilized in place of traditional generation, providing Americans with more cheap and secure sources of clean energy.

• Topic Area 1: System Planning Tools for Future Power Systems
• Topic Area 2: Variability Management in Grid Operations
• Topic Area 3: Rapid System Health and Risk Assessment Tools for Grid Operators

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS) 2023 funding opportunity. This funding opportunity will award $6.5 million for seedling R&D projects that focus on innovative and novel ideas in photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) and are riskier than research ideas based on established technologies.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is releasing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to solicit applications in accordance with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. This FOA represents a more than $6 billion opportunity to catalyze high-impact, large-scale, transformational advanced industrial facilities to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in energy-intensive industrial subsectors. DOE expects to award up to approximately 65 projects in high GHG-emitting industries and for cross-cutting technologies.

The Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), conducts consistent interactions with Tribes who are members of the Nuclear Energy Tribal Working Group (NETWG). The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to fund a cooperative agreement that engages tribal government leaders and representatives on issues and activities involving the topics for which NE has responsibility such as advanced reactors, siting an interim storage and/or disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel and high level radioactive waste, transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, cultural resource management, STEM education, environmental justice, etc.

The DOE SC program in High Energy Physics (HEP) hereby announces its interest in receiving applications for the DOE Traineeship in Accelerator Science & Engineering, which will provide support to train the next generation of scientists and engineers in this field. Up to 4 grants may be awarded to provide funding to universities or teams of universities to support tuition, stipend, and travel costs for students enrolled in specific accelerator science and engineering degree programs, and to provide modest support for topic-specific curriculum development and program administration. Award terms are expected to be up to five years, with the possibility of renewal for a second term. This program does not support dedicated accelerator research and development efforts; such efforts are supported through the HEP General Accelerator R&D (GARD) program, through accelerator R&D programs elsewhere in DOE, and by other federal agencies.

The Office of Science (SC) hereby announces its interest in applications to advance basic research in support of the Department of Energy’s Energy Earthshots™ initiative. This FOA is a collaborative effort across three SC research programs: Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, and Biological and Environmental Research. This FOA will support small teams to build the scientific foundations for the Energy Earthshots:

• Hydrogen Shot
• Long Duration Storage Shot
• Carbon Negative Shot
• Enhanced Geothermal Shot
• Floating Offshore Wind Shot
• Industrial Heat Shot

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorized DOE to provide $75 million in incentive payments for Section 243: Hydroelectric Efficiency Improvement Incentives Program. Owners or operators of existing hydroelectric facilities, including pumped storage hydropower, may apply for funding to make capital improvements that can improve their efficiency by at least 3%. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law states that payments shall not exceed 30% of the costs of the applicable capital improvement. A single qualified hydroelectric facility, including pumped storage hydropower, may only receive one incentive payment from this program within a single fiscal year, and that payment shall not exceed $5 million.

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

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Competitive Program will award $8.8 million to local governments, state-recognized tribes, or teams of these communities. EECBG Program recipients can use the funding for a wide variety of projects that lower energy costs, reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency, and reduce overall energy use.

The program provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Agricultural producers may also apply for new energy efficient equipment and new system loans for agricultural production and processing. With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) has been provided over $2 billion for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvement grants for agricultural producers and rural small business owners through 2031. Rural Development is accepting applications for six quarterly competitions with the following deadlines:

• June 30, 2023
• September 30, 2023
• December 31, 2023
• March 31, 2024
• June 30, 2024
• September 30, 2024