Applying

Applying to a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) from the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains can take several weeks. Please review the relevant Funding Notice for all submission deadlines and resources. When ready, submit all applications via the Infrastructure Exchange (unless stated otherwise). Questions regarding a specific FOA should be sent to the email listed on the Funding Notice page, which can also be found in the FOA. 

What funding opportunities are available?

Infrastructure Exchange serves as the “home base” for anyone interested in registering, monitoring, and applying for financial assistance. MESC uses this free, web-based platform to issue competitive solicitations, or funding opportunity announcements (FOAs), year-round following a consistent process.

Typically, funding notices are preceded by a request for information (RFI) and/or a notice of intent (NOI). RFIs represent the initial fact-finding and need-identifying phase of the process, while NOIs serve as a hypothetical heads-up for interested applicants to better understand EERE’s areas of interest for a potential funding opportunity, though one is not guaranteed.

Rebate Programs:  The Energy Efficient Transformer Rebate Program and Extended Product System Rebate Program support the installation of energy efficient distribution transformers and extended product systems that use equipment with electric motors, such as pumps, air compressors, and fans. The rebate programs aim to help domestic manufacturers, utilities, tribes, hospitals, schools, and other operators finance equipment upgrades, which will conserve energy and reduce costs while slashing greenhouse gas emissions across multiple sectors of the economy. 

Required System Registrations

Applicants must register with the systems listed below to apply to a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). In some cases, high demand may result in longer than expected wait times to register for certain systems. Therefore, applicants should start and complete the registration processes as early as possible.  

Infrastructure Exchange

Register and create an account in Infrastructure Exchange (https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/ ). This account will allow the user to apply to any open MESC FOAs that are currently in Infrastructure Exchange.  The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will be automatically disabled after the listed submission deadlines.

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 and technical difficulties with a submission:   Contact the Infrastructure eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (InfrastructureExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). 

See the Infrastructure Exchange User Guide for Applicants, found at https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx, for detailed instructions. 

System for Award Management (SAM):

Each applicant (unless the applicant is excepted from those requirements under 2 CFR 25.110) needs to register in SAM to obtain a Unique Entity ID (UEI).

  1. register in the SAM at https://www.sam.gov before submitting an application. NOTE: Designating an Electronic Business Point of Contact and obtaining a special password called a Marketing Partner ID Number (MPIN) are important steps in SAM registration.
  2. provide a valid UEI number in the application to DOE; and
  3. maintain an active SAM registration with current information when the applicant has an active federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a federal awarding agency.

DOE may not make a federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable UEI and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time DOE is ready to make a federal award, DOE will determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a federal award to another applicant.

NOTE: Due to the high number of UEI requests and SAM registrations, entity legal business name and address validations are taking longer than expected to process. Entities should start the UEI and SAM registration process as soon as possible. If entities have technical difficulties with the UEI validation or SAM registration process, they should use the HELP feature on SAM.gov. SAM.gov will address service tickets in the order in which they are received and asks that entities not create multiple service tickets for the same request or technical issue. Additional entity validation resources can be found here: GSAFSD Tier 0 Knowledge Base - Validating your Entity.

 

Grants.gov

To receive email updates on FOA amendments, applicants must register with Grants.gov.  

Click the “register” link in the top right corner of the grants.gov page, and then the “get registered now” button on the Register page, and complete the required information.

However, please note that applications will not be accepted through Grants.gov. http://www.grants.gov/. All applications must be submitted through Infrastructure Exchange.

Community Benefits Plan

A Community Benefits Plan (CBP) is a required application component for many DOE funding opportunities. The specific CBP components may vary based on the source of the funding (e.g., Bipartisan Infrastructure Law FOAs may have different CBP requirements). CBP requirements may also vary based on whether the FOA projects are research and development (R&D) or demonstration and deployment (D&D). 

MESC Guidance on CBP (MESC Community Benefits Plan Guidance - 3-2023 - final (energy.gov). 

The two recorded presentations below, provide potential applicants information about the CBP requirement and how to submit a strong CBP in a funding application.