Opportunity Title:
Renewable Advancing Community Energy Resilience (RACER)
Opportunity Number:
DE-FOA-002597
Description:
On April 12, 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the Renewables Advancing Community Energy Resilience (RACER) funding opportunity, which will award $25 million in funding for projects to enable communities to utilize solar and solar-plus-storage to prevent disruptions in power caused by extreme weather and other events, and to rapidly restore electricity if it goes down.
Projects will foster engagement and ongoing communication among multiple stakeholders such as utilities, municipal planners, emergency responders, community groups, and others, especially in underserved communities located in areas vulnerable to extreme events causing frequent energy and power service disruptions. In addition, projects will develop and demonstrate rapid energy restoration technologies based on the community resilience plan in order to increase the durability of photovoltaic (PV) systems.
These research activities will help increase the resilience of energy systems, which will help meet the Biden administration’s goals for achieving a decarbonized electricity sector by 2035. As extreme weather events become more common and place undue stress on our electricity infrastructure, solar and other distributed energy resources can help communities rapidly recover.
Eligibility:
For-profit entities, educational institutions, and nonprofits that are incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a particular state or territory of the United States and have a physical location for business operations in the United States are eligible to apply for funding as a prime recipient or subrecipient. Nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995 are not eligible to apply for funding.
State, local, and tribal government entities are eligible to apply for funding as a prime recipient or subrecipient.
Total Amount Available:
$25,000,000
Application Deadline:
Concept Papers Due 5/26/2022
Full Applications Due 7/25/2022
Webinar Information:
SETO will host an informational webinar on April 27, 2022 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss the funding program and the areas of focus.
Grant Management Associates has years of experience with opportunities like this one. Contact us today for a consultation.