DOE released a $4.75 million funding opportunity that will create one or more university-led Centers of Excellence.
Wind Energy Technologies Office
May 10, 2023
minute read time
Office: Wind Energy Technologies Office
FOA number: DE-FOA-0002954
Link to apply: Apply on EERE Exchange
FOA Amount: $4.75 million
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) released a $4.75 million funding opportunity that will create one or more university-led Centers of Excellence to increase offshore wind expertise at U.S. universities; develop partnerships to address key offshore wind development challenges; and educate the next generation of offshore wind experts in the United States.
The Centers of Excellence will catalyze innovative research, educational programming, and stakeholder engagement to address regional and technological challenges within the U.S. offshore wind sector. The Centers will establish strong cross-sector partnerships to identify and conduct critical, multi-disciplinary research that can address key offshore wind energy technology and deployment challenges.
In addition to pursuing interdisciplinary research, these university-led Centers of Excellence will help develop the next generation of leaders by providing undergraduate and graduate students direct experience addressing key offshore wind challenges that will prepare them for careers in the sector.
Applicants must submit concept papers by 5 p.m. ET on June 8, 2023, to be eligible to submit a full application.
A graduate student sits next to a robotic arm attached to the top of a small-scale floating offshore wind energy platform over a tank of water.
This funding opportunity intends to seed one to two university-led Centers of Excellence to catalyze an education, research, and partnership ecosystem to address technology, deployment, and workforce needs of the U.S. offshore wind industry to develop the next generations of leadership for the U.S. industry.
The university-led Centers of Excellence funded through this opportunity are intended to accelerate and maximize the effectiveness, and reliability of U.S. offshore wind deployment and operation through partnership with entities such as wind project developers, technology manufacturers, and other industry participants; other institutions of higher education; other research institutions, such as national laboratories; non-governmental organizations; tribes; and state and local-level governments relevant to emerging commercial-scale offshore wind development.
The Center(s) of Excellence should have strong existing multi-disciplinary credentials in the technology, human, and environmental dimensions of offshore wind; robust diversity and inclusion strategies; and expansive regional partnerships to excite the next generation of the renewable energy workforce. Strong applicants will:
- Propose a clear education and research mission with a deep understanding of the strategies needed to develop multi-disciplinary educational programming that addresses the technological and human dimensions of issues pertinent to offshore wind.
- Connect their proposed educational programming to the unique nature of challenges associated with offshore wind development in their proposed region, technology, and/or other areas of focus.
- Identify how their solutions can support broader national thinking and expertise.
Who Can Apply
Domestic entities that are eligible to participate as a prime recipient of this funding opportunity announcement:
- Institutions of higher education
Domestic entities that are eligible to participate as a subrecipient of this funding opportunity announcement:
- Research institutions
- For-profit entities
- Non-profit entities
- State and local government entities
- Tribal nations
Key Dates
| FOA Issue Date: | May 9, 2023 |
| Submission Deadline for Concept Papers: | June 8, 2023, at 5 p.m. ET |
| Submission Deadline for Full Applications: | August 28, 2023, at 5 p.m. ET |
| Expected Date for DOE Selection Notifications: | October 2023 |
| Expected Timeframe for Award Negotiations: | Q1 2024 |
Learn more about EERE’s funding opportunity application process.
Additional Information
- Download the full funding opportunity on the EERE Exchange website.
- For FOA-specific support, contact WETOFOA@ee.doe.gov.
- Sign up for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) email list to get notified of new EERE funding opportunities.
- Receive the latest information on WETO funding opportunities, events, and other news by subscribing to the monthly Catch the Wind newsletter, as well as the comprehensive, biannual Wind Research and Development (R&D) Newsletter.