United States: New DOE Grant Funding Opportunities for Bioenergy and Solar Energy Technologies

Stephen Bolotin is a Public Affairs Advisor in our Washington, D.C. office

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) continues to issue attractive funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) in support of renewable and clean energy technologies. What follows is an overview of two new, high-value FOAs that have the capacity to support companies in the bioeconomy and renewable power sectors with non-dilutive R&D funding.

EERE's "Project Development for Pilot and Demonstration Scale Manufacturing of Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biopower (PD2B3)" FOA

After much anticipation, the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has issued a FOA entitled "Project Development for Pilot and Demonstration Scale Manufacturing of Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biopower (PD2B3)" that aims to support the design and potential construction of pilot- and demonstration-scale Integrated Biorefineries (IBRs). The first inklings of this FOA date back to late 2014 and, in part due to internal agency obstacles and due diligence, is now only coming to fruition. With $90 million in funding announced, this FOA has substantially exceeded the $25 million in funding originally envisioned a couple years ago.

This FOA aims to support the manufacture of drop-in hydrocarbon biofuels, bioproducts, or intermediates and is separated in two phases: including an initial design phase extending approximately 1-2 years (Phase 1) followed by a down-select review and the possibility to continue onto a second construction and operations phase (Phase 2). The initial design phase requires conducting a technology validation performance test, in which the applicant must reproduce data sets commensurate to the prior scale work presented in the application. 

The FOA has identified three priority technology topic areas:

1. Pilot scale production of biofuels from high impact cellulosic, algal, or biogas feedstocks.
2. Demonstration scale production of biofuels from high impact cellulosic, algal, or biogas feedstocks. (Biopower and bioproducts are allowed as co-products.)
3. Production of biopower or biofuels from biosolids and other waste streams. (Bioproducts are also allowed as co-products.)

Competitive applications must address the entire production process—from feedstock handling through biofuel, bioproduct, or biopower distribution. Applications must also demonstrate significant market awareness and address market risk mitigation strategies.

Key application dates include:

For more information and to apply online, visit the EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange.

EERE's "Enabling Extreme Real-Time Grid Integration of Solar Energy (ENERGISE)" FOA

As part of its Grid Modernization and SunShot Initiatives, the DOE has issued a FOA entitled "Enabling Extreme Real-Time Grid Integration of Solar Energy (ENERGISE)" to support the R&D of highly scalable distribution system planning and real-time operation solutions that enable seamless interconnection and integration of high penetration solar generation onto the electricity grid in a cost-effective, secure, and reliable manner. With $25 million in funding announced, the ENERGISE FOA is seeking solutions that require the extensive use of sensor, communication, and data analytics technologies to gather up-to-the-minute measurement and forecast data from diverse sources and perform continuous optimization analysis and active control for existing and new PV installations in real time.

The FOA aims to fund both near-term (2020), commercially-ready, and highly scalable distribution planning and real-time operation solutions in addition to long-term (2030), transformative, and highly scalable technologies that plug into distribution system planning and real-time operation solutions for advanced grid architectures. The solutions need be compatible with the existing grid architecture in the near term and with the advanced grid architecture in the long term. The solutions should also be designed with consideration of the interoperability and cybersecurity requirements.

Key application dates include:

For more information and to apply online, visit the EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.