DOE Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas – Fiscal Year 2025 Release

FUNDING PROGRAM: DOE Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas – Fiscal Year 2025 Release.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: DE-FOA-0003428.

FUNDING AGENCIES: United States Department of Energy (DOE).

OPPORTUNITY:

This funding opportunity provides support for rural and remote communities to build clean energy projects that benefit their communities. Benefits could include cleaner, more resilient, more reliable, and/or more affordable local energy sources for rural and remote communities. These projects could also increase local energy independence, tax revenue, economic development and diversification, and local jobs, and reduce environmental and health burdens.

DESCRIPTION:

This program aims to increase communities’ capacity to plan, build, and operate clean energy systems, e.g., by developing available technical expertise locally and with partners, and/or increasing community engagement with those projects. We (i.e., the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, unless noted otherwise), also expect that this opportunity will enable projects and people to demonstrate inspiring and practical paths to clean energy so an even broader range and number of rural and remote communities can benefit from clean energy.

Funding will support materials, equipment, time, labor, and other resources to build clean energy projects in rural or remote communities and other allowable costs arising from activities as proposed (e.g., collaboration, outreach, and engagement with stakeholders and tribes, or workforce development programs).

This program serves communities of 10,000 people or fewer.

This funding opportunity focuses on a few of the barriers to adoption, many of which are non-technical, that rural and remote communities face when building clean energy projects. Tending to these barriers can improve overall project success and will be an important part of any project funded through this opportunity.

DOE also aims to support projects and teams that will partner with DOE, the National Laboratories, other rural and remote communities, and other parties to develop, share, and help apply the lessons learned from the funded project to other communities working to deploy clean energy infrastructure in rural and remote communities across the country.

The overall goals of this program are to:

• Deliver measurable and sustained benefits to people who live in rural or remote areas by funding replicable clean energy projects that lower energy costs, improve energy access and resilience, increase economic opportunity, and/or reduce environmental harm.
• Demonstrate effective rural or remote energy system approaches using climate-resilient technologies, business structures that promote economic resilience, accessible and appropriate financing mechanisms, and/or best practices in community leadership and engagement, and workforce development.
• Build clean energy knowledge, experience, capacity, and self-reliance in rural and remote parts of America.

TOPIC AREAS:

• Open category
• Dual use and co-location
• Smaller-scale community-centered
• Isolated microgrids & unelectrified buildings

COST SHARING: 5–50% minimum required non-Federal cost share depending on Topic Area.

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS (either as a recipient or subrecipient):

• Indian Tribes
• State and local governmental entities
• Nonprofit organizations
• For-profit organizations
• Tribal organizations
• Rural electric cooperatives
• Farming associations and cooperatives
• Labor unions
• Institutions of higher education
• Incorporated consortia
• Unincorporated consortia

FUNDING AVAILABLE: 

• FUNDING AVAILABILITY (ANTICIPATED): $400 million
• INDIVIDUAL AWARD AMOUNTS: $2M–$50M contribution from DOE depending on Topic Area

APPLICATION DEADLINE(S): 

• DEADLINE FOR CONCEPT PAPERS: February 27, 2025.
• DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: August 28, 2025.