The DOE Office of Indian Energy will only consider applications from: (1) Tribal Colleges and
Universities (TCUs). Applications from a consortium of TCUs (Consortium) will be accepted but must be submitted by a single TCU acting as the Applicant and representing the Consortium. Applicants must be registered in SAM.gov before submitting application.
This FOA builds on efforts by the DOE Office of Indian Energy and the authorities granted to the DOE Office of Indian Energy under EPAct 2005, to accelerate the deployment of clean energy technology on Tribal Lands. In addition to the $75 million committed to tribal energy projects selected in 2023, between 2010 and 2022, the DOE Office of Indian Energy invested over $120 million in more than 210 tribal energy projects implemented across the contiguous 48 states and Alaska. These projects, valued at more than $215 million, are leveraged by over $93 million in Recipient cost share. See the DOE’s Office of Indian Energy website for a map and summaries of these competitively funded projects.
Through this FOA, the DOE Office of Indian Energy will continue its efforts to advance Tribal
energy sovereignty and maximize the deployment of clean, reliable, affordable and local energy solutions. In support of these objectives, the DOE Office of Indian Energy intends to provide financial support to Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to plan the transition of their campuses to clean energy.
Through grants, the DOE Office of Indian Energy intends to provide financial support under the provisions of the Title V of EPAct 2005.
The level of commitment and capabilities of the Applicant and project participants to
accomplish the proposed project will be major factors in selecting applications for funding.
The application must also demonstrate the organizational and technical readiness and Applicant commitment to the proposed project. In addition to specific technical evaluation criteria to be identified in the planned FOA, the Selection Official may also have the ability to consider the following program policy factors in making selections under the FOA: geographic distribution; the optimum use of available DOE funding to achieve programmatic objectives; whether the tribal community has high energy costs; whether the tribal community is not connected to the traditional centralized electrical power grid; and/or Applicants who have not previously received a grant from the Office of Indian Energy.
Within scope and budget, the DOE Office of Indian Energy may, upon request, provide technical assistance to eligible Applicants who apply under this FOA and whose applications are comprehensively reviewed, but not selected for negotiation.