On November 29, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) about its first round of $80 million in grants available for energy improvements at K-12 public school facilities under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's "Renew America's Schools" Grant Program. The grants aim to support projects that "enable replicable and scalable impacts, create innovative, sustaining partnerships, leverage funding and economies of scale, focus on disadvantaged communities, improve student, teacher, and occupant health, enrich learning and growth, assist schools that serve as community assets (e.g., neighborhood cooling centers or disaster recovery shelters), and are crafted thoughtfully within the context of public school facilities (e.g., procurement restraints, construction windows, etc.)."
There are two key topic areas for eligible grant projects, which are:
- #1 - High-Impact Energy Efficiency and Health Improvements - Projects must result in direct reduction to school energy costs and increase energy efficiency, and lead to improvements in teacher and student health (including IAQ).
- #2 - Innovative Energy Technology Packages - Projects could include any improvement, repair, or renovation to a school that incorporates two or more of the followinf energy improvements:
- Energy efficiency measures; installation of renewable energy technologies; alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure on school grounds; and/or purchase or lease of alternative fueled vehicles to be used by a school.
DOE plans to award 20-100 grants ranging from $500,000 to $15,000,000 and is prioritizing high-need/low-income and rural schools as recipients. For more information,
check out these presentation slides from a December 6 DOE webinar on the program.
------------------------------
ASBO USA
asbousa@asbointl.org------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 10-26-2022 15:56
From: ASBO USA
Subject: Dept of Energy (DOE) Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Grants for Public School Facilities
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced more than $80 million of $500 million in grants will be made available to help make clean energy improvements in K-12 public schools. This funding, authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will help empower school districts to make upgrades that will lower facilities' energy costs and improve student learning environments.
DOE will encourage eligible applicants to consider projects that enable replicable and scalable impacts; create innovative, sustaining partnerships; leverage funding and economies of scale; target disadvantaged communities; improve student, teacher, and occupant health; enrich learning and growth; target schools that serve as community assets (e.g. neighborhood cooling centers or disaster recovery shelters); can be completed quickly; and are crafted thoughtfully within the context of public-school facilities (e.g. procurement restraints, construction windows, etc.).
Read DOE's full Notice of Intent (NOI) attached to this post, to learn more about the grant opportunity and how to apply. A "funding opportunity announcement" (FOA) will be issued in November 2022 via the EERE eXCHANGE website https://eere-eXCHANGE.energy.gov/ with more information. To receive official notifications and information regarding this grant opportunity, register in EERE eXCHANGE. When the application window is open, applications will be accepted through EERE eXCHANGE only.
Before the FOA is released, applicants are advised to complete the following steps, which are required for grant application submission:
- Register and create an account in EERE eXCHANGE at https://eere-eXCHANGE.energy.gov.
- This account will allow the user to apply to any open EERE FOAs that are currently in EERE eXCHANGE. As part of the eXCHANGE registration process, new users will be directed to create an account in Login.gov. Please note that the email address associated with Login.gov must match the email address associated with the eXCHANGE account.
- It is recommended that each organization or business unit, whether acting as a team or a single entity, use only one account as the contact point for each submission. Questions related to the registration process and use of the EERE Exchange website should be submitted to: EERE-eXCHANGESupport@hq.doe.gov.
- Register with the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://www.sam.gov.
- Designating an Electronic Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC) and obtaining a special password called an MPIN are important steps in SAM registration. Please update your SAM registration annually. Upon registration, SAM will automatically assign a Unique Entity ID (UEI).
- Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM)
- Each applicant is required to: (1) Be registered in the SAM at https://www.sam.gov before submitting its application, (2) provide a valid UEI number in its application; and (3) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a federal awarding agency. If these steps are not followed beforehand, DOE will determine the applicant is not qualified to receive a federal award under this program.
- Due to high demand of UEI requests and SAM registrations, it is taking longer than normal to process, so please start this process as soon as possible.
- Register in FedConnect at https://www.fedconnect.net/.
- Register in Grants.gov to receive automatic updates when Amendments to a FOA are posted.
- However, please note that applications will not be accepted through Grants.gov. http://www.grants.gov/. All applications must be submitted through EERE eXCHANGE instead.
------------------------------
ASBO USA
asbousa@asbointl.org
------------------------------