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Information
Important Dates
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Deadline
-
TBD
September 12, 2024
3:00 pm
ET

Voucher Opportunity 3 (Recipients) - Clean Energy Demonstration Project Siting/Permitting Support (OCED/EERE)

Information

Description

DOE announced selections for the seven voucher opportunities in October 2024. Click here to view the full list of selectees.

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States, local governments, tribes, and other Authority Having Jurisdictions (AHJs) interested in learning about and facilitating clean energy demonstration project siting and permitting processes should take advantage of this voucher opportunity. This opportunity is designed to help AHJs streamline siting and permitting processes to advance commercialization and demonstration of innovative clean energy technologies. This will be achieved by matching Voucher Recipients (AHJs and related institutions) with Voucher Providers (technical experts on clean energy development and operations) to work together. See below for additional info about eligibility and timeline.


As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Technology Commercialization Fund, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC), Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), and Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), in collaboration with ENERGYWERX, are offering this Clean Energy Demonstration Project Siting/Permitting Support Voucher Opportunity (VO-3) to AHJs and other relevant entities to understand new clean energy technology benefits and challenges, evaluate siting and permitting best practices developed by similar jurisdictions, develop streamlined permitting processes, and support community engagement on related issues. The ultimate goal is to increase adoption readiness (with a focus on license to operate) of new clean energy technologies.

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View the Pre-Approved Voucher Providers: Click Here to View
Complete the Recipient Submission Form: Click Here to Submit for VO-3

Objective

The DOE Voucher Program builds bridges between U.S. entrepreneurs, businesses, technology developers or other relevant partners and third-party voucher providers to advance commercialization of innovative energy technologies. VO-3 enables expert assistance to help AHJs and other relevant entities understand new clean energy technology benefits, address siting/permitting challenges, and support the demonstration of new energy technologies.

DOE has selected and pre-approved a cohort of voucher providers offering a variety of capabilities you might be interested in: Click Here to View the Pre-Approved Voucher Providers. For this voucher opportunity, capabilities include:

  • Evaluating siting and permitting best practices developed by similar jurisdictions,
  • Developing streamlined permitting processes,
  • Educating first responders and related personnel on technology safety requirements and risks
  • Evaluating locality infrastructure/logistical readiness to utilize the designated technologies,
  • Supporting community engagement on related issues.

When you apply, you will review the available capabilities and submit your preferences in the voucher recipient request form. If you find something that can be valuable to your organization and that can enable your organization to accelerate demonstration, commercialization, and deployment of new clean energy technologies, please consider applying to receive that in-kind support.

Note: The full list of pre-approved voucher provider capabilities is available here. Please carefully read through the descriptions, deliverables, required inputs, applicable technology area(s), and other related information for each capability. DOE will not allow changes to the high-level scope of work defined in the voucher provider’s capability submission.

Voucher Projects: Vouchers will be distributed as in-kind support, meaning that ENERGYWERX will directly reimburse the voucher provider for the work they have completed on behalf of the voucher recipients. DOE anticipates the value of the voucher to be up to $100,000. However, the specific value depends on the specific capability and is discussed only between DOE and the provider.

Only work related to specific technology areas will be eligible to receive a voucher under this opportunity. List of eligible technology areas:

DOE anticipates issuing approximately 50 vouchers. Please note that funding is not equally available for all technology areas. The majority of funding for this voucher opportunity comes from OCED (see above).

Voucher Recipients: Limited to AHJ’s or other relevant entities seeking to host clean energy projects that fit a specific technology vertical of interest for DOE OCED or EERE. Preference will be given to potential voucher recipients who have not previously received support through this program.

This opportunity is limited to one submission per requesting organization. In the case of multiple submissions, DOE will consider only the submission with the latest time stamp.

Pending availability of funds, additional submission windows may open in the future for this voucher opportunity.

Event Updates

Voucher Recipients: How to Participate in VO-3

  • Watch the Objective Strategic Session (OSS) webinar recording: Click Here to Watch
  • Review the resources from the Informational Office Hours Session on August 27, 2024 from 3:00-3:45 PM ET under Webinar Resources
  • Complete the Recipient Submission Form: Click Here to Submit for VO-3 (Submissions are due NLT September 12, 2024 at 3:00 PM ET)

This is not the only voucher opportunity currently available through ENERGYWERX. See here for additional information related to other voucher opportunities.

Important Dates

DOE Announcement

Objective Strategic Session (OSS) Webinar

Objective Strategic Session (OSS) webinar: DOE will provide further details about Voucher Opportunities. Potential voucher recipients can better understand the scope, scale, and intent of the Voucher Program. The virtual IW/OSS will be pre-recorded and can viewed here.

Office Hours (OH) Q&A Webinar

Office Hours (OH) Q&A Webinar [August 27, 2024 at 3:00PM ET]: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will host Office Hours on Voucher Opportunity 3 on August 27, 2024 to answer any remaining questions from potential applicants before the submission deadline.

Submission Deadline(s)

Voucher Recipient: Submissions are due NLT September 12, 2024 at 3:00 PM ET

Process Details

Timeline(s)

Voucher Recipient Timeline

Phase 1 – Voucher Recipient Request Submissions Open [August 13, 2024 – September 12, 2024]: Interested potential voucher recipients should complete the request form including background information on the recipient and requested capability(ies) as well as relevance to program goals, applicability of the selected capabilities, and benefits from receiving support.

Phase 2 – DOE Selection [Fall 2024]: DOE will review submissions based on relevance to the program objectives and will notify selected entities for next steps.

NOTE:  DOE may choose to meet with submitters or ask additional clarifying questions prior to selection.

Phase 3 – Voucher approval and start of work [January 2025]: Subsequently, voucher projects will commence.

Resources from Webinar(s)

Coming soon.

Video Recording(s)

Voucher Program Overview
Voucher Program Mechanism
Voucher Recipient Submissions
VO 3: Pre-Recorded OSS
How To Use The Voucher Capability Tool
2024-08-27 Voucher 3 Office Hours

Eligibility & Review Criteria

Frequently Asked Questions

May an FFRDC or a National Lab apply?

DOE will not directly fund National Labs*/FFRDCs via this Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA) Opportunity; however, FFRDCs (e.g. DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration national laboratories) may participate as a Selectee’s subrecipient.  The FFRDC effort, in aggregate, shall not exceed 10% of total federal share of the project, and ENWX and DOE will not be involved in, nor assist in, these activities.  Selectees will receive full funding through a Business-to-Business (B2B) Agreement with ENWX.  Selectees are solely responsible for funding and executing necessary agreements with subrecipients.  

*Caveat:  NLs may be Voucher Providers and may apply, but if selected, DOE will manage the work and pay the NL directly through the existing funding mechanism.

‍What are Smart Manufacturing and high-performance computing?

For the purposes of this opportunity:

“Smart Manufacturing” means advanced technologies in information, automation, monitoring, computation, sensing, modeling, artificial intelligence, analytics, and networking that can -

  • simulate manufacturing production lines;
  • operate computer-controlled manufacturing equipment;
  • monitor and communicate production line status; and
  • manage and optimize energy productivity and cost throughout production;
  • model, simulate, and optimize the energy efficiency of a factory building;
  • monitor and optimize building energy performance;
  • model, simulate, and optimize the design of energy efficient and sustainable products, including the use of digital prototyping and additive manufacturing to enhance product design;
  • connect manufactured products in networks to monitor and optimize the performance of the networks, including automated network operations; and
  • digitally connect the supply chain network.16

“High-Performance Computing” means the use of supercomputers, sophisticated models, and/or large data sets to study and solve complex scientific and technological challenges.

What exactly is a “small- and medium-sized manufacturer”?

The term “small- and medium-sized manufacturer” (SMM) means manufacturing firms:

  • classified in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) as any of sectors 31 through 33;
  • with gross annual sales of less than $100,000,000;
  • with fewer than 500 employees at the plant site; and
  • with annual energy bills totaling more than $100,000 and less than $3,500,000
Who is eligible to receive funding?

Refer to Section III.G.2. Eligibility Requirements in the Solicitation Overview.

An application’s prime recipient must be one of the following eligibility entities, else the application will be considered ineligible and removed from further evaluation:

  • State entity;
  • State-funded university; or
  • State-funded community or technical college
Are applicants required to provide cost share?

Yes, cost sharing is required under this solicitation. Applicants are required to provide at least a 23.1% cost share, i.e. applicants need to fund a minimum of 23.1% of the total project cost. Cost share can come from any non-federal source, i.e. cash on hand, philanthropy, corporate investment, etc.

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What is the difference between "cost sharing" and "cost match"?

Refer to the Cost Share handout for more detail and examples.

  • While the terms “cost sharing” and “cost matching” are sometimes used interchangeably, there is an important distinction between them. DOE uses “cost sharing” to indicate that the non- federal share is calculated as a percentage of the Total Project Cost. On the other hand, for “cost matching”, the non-federal match is calculated as a percentage of the federal funds only, rather than the Total Project Cost.
  • The statutory language that authorizes the State Manufacturing Leadership Program requires proponents to provide at least 30 percent cost match. For the purposes of this solicitation, the 30 percent cost matching requirement has been converted to an equivalent 23.1 percent cost sharing requirement
What are the acronyms SMM, HPC, and SLMP?
  • SMM = small- and medium-sized manufacturers
  • HPC = high-performance computing
  • SMLP = State Manufacturing Leadership Program
  • IAC = Industrial Assessment Center
  • ITAC = Industrial Training and Assessment Center
  • TA = Technical Assistance
Why did the solicitation come down mid-January?

The solicitation was temporarily taken down while DOE and ENERGYWERX confirmed that the language was consistent with recent Executive Orders.

What is an Opportunity?

Understanding Opportunities

An opportunity is a favorable circumstance or situation that allows for the potential to achieve a goal or benefit. In various contexts, opportunities can arise in business, education, and personal development. Recognizing and seizing these moments can lead to significant advancements in one's career or personal life.

Types of Opportunities

  • Career Opportunities: Job openings or promotions that can enhance your professional journey.
  • Educational Opportunities: Programs or courses that provide knowledge and skills.
  • Networking Opportunities: Events or platforms that allow you to connect with others in your field.

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Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact ENERGYWERX:  info@energywerx.org

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