What Is the Onsite Energy Program?
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Onsite Energy Program provides technical assistance, market analysis, and best practices to help industrial facilities and other large energy users increase the adoption of onsite clean energy technologies.
Onsite Energy Program Quick Links
By generating and storing electricity and heat directly at your own manufacturing facility, you can save money, reduce uncertainty associated with fuel prices, and gain greater control over the availability of clean energy and how it gets integrated into your processes. Onsite energy saves energy and reduces operating costs by increasing efficiency and capturing usable energy that would otherwise be wasted.
Developing clean energy resources onsite can also help decarbonize industry. Clean onsite energy technologies can provide facility owners across the industrial sector with a practical option to reduce their emissions and dependence on fossil fuels, by generating electricity and heat from flexible, reliable, and affordable energy resources.
How Can the Program Help You?
As part of the Onsite Energy Program, DOE launched a network of Technical Assistance Partnerships (TAPs) to provide manufacturers with access to regional and technical expertise across the country. The 10 regional Onsite Energy TAPs help facilities integrate the latest onsite energy technologies by providing specialized services, including:
Technical Assistance
Screen sites for opportunities to implement onsite energy technologies and provide advanced services to maximize economic impact and reduce risk from initial screening to installation to operation and maintenance.
End-User Engagement
Partner with organizations representing industrial and other large energy users to advance onsite energy as a cost-effective way to transition to a clean energy economy.
Stakeholder Engagement
Engage with strategic stakeholders, including utilities and policymakers, to identify and reduce barriers to onsite energy through fact-based, unbiased education.
The TAPs have expertise to advise on a wide variety of onsite energy technologies, such as:
- Battery storage
- Combined heat and power
- District energy
- Fuel cells
- Geothermal
- Industrial heat pumps
- Renewable fuels
- Solar photovoltaics
- Solar thermal
- Thermal storage
- Waste heat to power
- Wind power
- And more!
The Onsite Energy TAPs also conduct education and outreach and engage with policymakers, utilities, and other key stakeholders to identify pathways that could accelerate the integration of onsite clean energy technologies. These activities include developing regional resources, sharing best practices, and building partnerships that drive decarbonization across the U.S. industrial sector.
The TAPs were selected through a competitive DOE funding opportunity. Learn more about the TAP selections.
How Do I Contact the TAP in My Region?
The department's 10 regional TAPs cover all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. If you are interested in a TAP, find your regional contact, which are divided into the following groups of states and territories:
The Onsite Energy 10 regional TAPs cover all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Central—Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
- Mid-Atlantic—Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
- Midwest—Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin
- New England—Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
- New York and New Jersey
- Northwest—Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
- Southcentral—Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
- Southeast—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands
- Upper-West—Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
- Western—Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada.
Additional Information
The Onsite Energy Program is overseen and funded by DOE’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office. The TAPs are also supported by a trio of DOE national laboratories (the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) with subject-matter expertise in onsite energy deployment.
Visit the Onsite Energy website to:
- Learn more about the program
- Explore technology areas
- Find resources
- Join upcoming events.
Additionally, as part of DOE’s Industrial Research and Assessment Center Implementation Grants Program, small and medium-sized manufacturers may receive grants of up to $300,000 to implement recommendations made by the Onsite Energy TAPs.
Contact OnsiteEnergy@ee.doe.gov with questions.
