Author: EERE Staff             Published: 12/6/2022     EERE 

EERE Funding Opportunities

$28 Million Available to Address Key Deployment Challenges for Offshore, Land-Based, and Distributed Wind

The U.S. Department of Energy today released a $28 million funding opportunity through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to lower costs and address barriers to deployment of wind energy in all its applications—offshore, land-based, and distributed.

Wind energy accounted for more than 9% of total domestic electricity generation in 2021 and will play a significant role in achieving President Biden’s goals to reach 100% clean electricity by 2035 and a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050.

DOE estimates making up to 27 awards under this funding opportunity, ranging between $200,000 and $3,000,000.

This multi-topic funding opportunity includes: 

• $9.7 million to advance technologies needed to transmit large amounts of electricity from offshore wind over long distances.
• $3.3 million to improve permitting processes to make distributed wind more accessible to communities where distributed wind can be cost-effectively and equitably deployed.
• $6.9 million to support social science research and community engagement that helps communities benefit from offshore wind development.
• $8 million to improve technologies that help bats avoid wind turbines as the industry works to minimize impacts to local wildlife and ecosystems.

Who Can Apply

Domestic entities are eligible to participate as a prime recipient or subrecipient of this funding opportunity announcement:

• Institutions of higher education
• For-profit entities
• Nonprofit entities
• State and local government entities
• Tribal nations

DOE encourages underserved communities and underrepresented groups to participate in this funding opportunity.

Please refer to the funding opportunity announcement for topic and sub-topic specific eligibility requirements.

Applicants must submit a concept paper by 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 20, 2023, to be eligible to submit a full application.

Learn more about this funding opportunity and other open funding opportunities within DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.