Funding Opportunities

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is jointly issued by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) as part of their Interconnection Innovation Exchange (i2X) program1 to support innovative work to enable simpler, faster, and fairer interconnection of clean energy resources while enhancing the reliability, resiliency, and security of our electrical grid. The two FOA topic areas are as follows:

Topic Area 1: Improved Efficiency of EMT Simulations for Interconnection Studies of IBRs Projects in this topic area will seek to improve the efficiency of the interconnection study process for new IBRs, such as solar and wind plants and battery energy storage systems, by improving software tools to study plant dynamics to increase long-term plant reliability. Projects will achieve this both by improving the speed of advanced, high-fidelity EMT modeling and simulation tools used in power systems interconnection studies and by developing a better understanding of when such high-fidelity simulations are necessary in the interconnection process.

Topic Area 2: Dynamic Stability-Enhanced Network Assessment Tools Projects in this topic area will develop tools to provide stakeholders with data on transmission system characteristics related to stability, voltage, and grid strength while securing confidential and critical energy infrastructure information. Projects will establish the type of information required by stakeholders, develop a tool or tools, and test and evaluate those tools on at least one real transmission system. Topic Area 1 is primarily focused on the improvement of software tools, methods, or processes used to conduct EMT studies, the results of which will inform the transmission system interconnection stakeholders in Topic Area 2. Projects in Topic Area 2 do not need to be focused solely on transmission system characteristics based on EMT studies.

Support organizations to screen and educate people exposed to radiation related to the mining of uranium and U.S. testing of nuclear weapons.

Purpose:
To protect critical agricultural lands, to support infill & compact development, and to avoid increases in the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses. Planning grants support the development of local and regional land use policies and economic development strategies to protect these agricultural lands.

Note: pre-proposals are required, deadline for submittal is January 31, 2025.

Description:
The Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program supports the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals by making strategic investments to protect agricultural lands. Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Planning Grants support the development and implementation of plans for the protection of agricultural land at risk of conversion to non-agricultural uses, maintaining the economic viability of the region’s agricultural lands, and developing the economic viability of regional food systems and infrastructure to support the production, aggregation, processing and distribution of agricultural products.

Purpose:
Permanently protect croplands, rangelands, and lands utilized for the cultivation of traditional resources from conversion to non-agricultural uses.​ Protecting these lands promotes smart growth within existing jurisdictions, ensures open space remains available, and supports healthy agricultural and tribal food systems, and resulting food security.

Please note: pre-proposals are required, deadline for submittal is January 31, 2025.

Description:
The Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC) supports the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals by making strategic investments to protect agricultural lands. Agricultural Conservation Acquisitions provide funding to leverage the protection of strategically located, highly productive, and critically threatened agricultural land, via the purchase of permanent agricultural conservation easements and fee title purchases.

Purpose:
Permanently protect croplands, rangelands, and lands utilized for the cultivation of traditional resources from conversion to non-agricultural uses.​ Protecting these lands promotes smart growth within existing jurisdictions, ensures open space remains available, and supports healthy agricultural and tribal food systems, and resulting food security.

Description:
The Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program supports the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals by making strategic investments to protect agricultural lands. Capacity and Project Development grants expand organizational capacity to develop agricultural conservation acquisition projects.​

Purpose:
The Equity, Engagement, and Education (EEE) Grant Account Cycle 2 will award grants up to $200,000 for the purposes of building CBO, Tribal, and community capacity to understand and engage with CPUC decision-making processes. This will enable CBOs and Tribes to have more influence over clean energy programs and support making these programs more accessible to their served communities.

Description:
Applicants for the Equity, Engagement, and Education (EEE) Grant Account Cycle 2 must demonstrate a track record of advocating for their Tribe or community. The selected recipients of the EEE Grant Account will exhibit a history of promoting their Tribe or community. The EEE Grant Account will cover the following activities:

1. Community involvement and outreach related to CPUC proceedings.
2. Employing consultants and staff for tasks necessary for active involvement in CPUC decision-making processes.
3. Education, training, and curriculum development concerning CPUC processes, proceedings, and programs.
4. Partnership and coalition development to raise awareness of CPUC matters in underprivileged communities.

The activities are categorized as follows:
- Outreach: Educating their communities on CPUC policies, proceedings, and programs.
- Training: Developing internal staff capacity to serve their community.
- Advocacy: Advocating for their community before the CPUC with new legal or regulatory expertise.

The EEE Grant Account is a competitive grant. For the most current grant timelines, please refer to the E&A Grant Program webpage: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/capacitygrants.

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day and KidsGardening share a belief that the garden has the power to do more than grow flowers and herbs. It can grow people, communities, and even kindness, too. Together, we designed the Lots of Compassion Grant program to support local leaders looking to transform vacant lots into gardens to help grow compassion in their community.

About 15% of land in urban cities is deemed vacant or abandoned, which can lead to many negative outcomes for surrounding neighborhoods, including decreases in physical and mental health and diminished feelings of safety & security[1]. Lots of Compassion aims to provide resources to those seeking to transform vacant lots in their neighborhood into gardens for community growth.

Through the Lots of Compassion initiative, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day is pledging to provide up to $1 million from Compassion Flower product sales to support community garden transformations over the next five years. Now in its second year, ten grantees will receive $20,000 each to transform a vacant lot into a garden. A total of $200,000 will be awarded in 2024.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL): CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM, FRONT-END ENGINEERING AND DESIGN FOR CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2) TRANSPORT. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will fund Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) studies that support and accelerate the planning for CO2 transport by a variety of modes. The CO2 must be derived only from anthropogenic sources which could include CO2 derived by direct capture from ambient air and must be delivered to CO2 conversion sites or secure geologic storage facilities. The first release of DE-FOA-0002730 accepted applications for CO2 transport FEED studies consisting only of CO2 pipelines. The second release of the FOA accepted applications describing CO2 transport FEED studies for any single mode of transport such as pipeline, rail, truck, barge, or ship. The third release of this FOA accepts applications for all modes of CO2 transport (pipeline, truck, rail, barge, ship), including any combination of transport modes. Please see full FOA document for a detailed list of the changes.

Competitors in the 3D Solar Visibility Prize will develop a DSSE tool and be provided with measurements to test them. Competitors will submit their DSSE tool results for two distribution system networks through the Open Energy Data Initiative for solar systems integration (OEDI SI) platform for 14 consecutive days. The OEDI SI team will then compare the DSSE’s performance against a set of industry standard metrics to select the top-performing teams.

The 3D Solar Visibility Prize will award up to $175,000 to up to five competitors, anticipating two winners and three runners-up. Winners will receive $50,000 each and runners-up will receive $25,000 each.

Throughout the competition, competitors will have access to support from the American-Made Network, a diverse and powerful community of incubators, investors, philanthropists, fabrication facilities, and seasoned industry leaders who provide technical insight, business development expertise, product validation, and more.

River Network and the United States Forest Service are excited to announce the sixth year of funding for nonprofit and tribal organizations working on or planning for stewardship activities on Forest Service administered Wild & Scenic Rivers (WSR) and surrounding lands. There are two types of awards:

1. Stewardship Impact Awards – these awards are for WSR stewardship projects for groups with established relationships with the Forest Service, and can cover a range of stewardship activities; and

2. Relationship Building and Planning Awards – these planning awards are intended to support relationship building between organizations led by and/or supporting communities who historically lack access to outdoor education, recreation, and stewardship opportunities and their local Forest Service offices.