Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002731
The Department of Energy (DOE), through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and its Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), released Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002731 under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (also called the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act). The overall purpose of this opportunity is to accelerate practical, lower-impact growth in two parts of the water power sector: adding hydropower generation at existing non-powered dams and improving the viability of pumped storage hydropower. The FOA is structured to support technology innovation and applied development that can move projects closer to real-world deployment, while also addressing cost, environmental performance, and the set of barriers that often delay or prevent water power projects from moving forward.
Funding is expected to total about $14.5 million across the FOA, with awards issued as cooperative agreements, meaning DOE is likely to have substantial involvement during the project period rather than acting purely as a pass-through funder. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 81.087 and is administered by the DOE Golden Field Office. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), with the standard caveat that applicants must follow any additional eligibility details or limits described in the FOA itself. While the source listing shows fields like "Award Ceiling" and "Expected Awards" as 0, that typically reflects how the summary record was entered rather than indicating that no funding will be made; the narrative portion clearly states anticipated funding availability.
The first topic area focuses on hydropower retrofits for non-powered dams. The intent here is to tap the existing footprint of dams that already provide other services (such as flood control, navigation, irrigation, or water supply) but do not currently generate electricity. By targeting retrofits, the program is aiming for relatively efficient additions of renewable generation that avoid building entirely new impoundments, while still emphasizing environmental sustainability and reasonable cost. Projects under this topic are expected to propose innovative solutions that make adding generation more feasible, potentially including new approaches to modular equipment, fish passage considerations, sediment and water quality impacts, or construction methods that reduce site disruption and total installed cost.
The second topic area is dedicated to innovative pumped storage hydropower technologies. Pumped storage is widely viewed as a long-duration energy storage option that can help balance the grid, especially with increasing levels of variable renewable energy, but it often faces major deployment challenges. The FOA specifically calls out barriers such as market and revenue uncertainty, high development costs and financing hurdles, long development timelines, permitting complexity, construction risks, and environmental impacts. The goal in this area is not only better hardware, but also technologies and methods that reduce project risk, shorten schedules, improve predictability, and lower environmental footprint. In practice, this could include innovations that simplify site development, improve operational flexibility, reduce civil works intensity, improve closed-loop or off-river concepts, enhance monitoring and modeling, or otherwise make projects easier to permit, finance, and build.
The third topic area supports hydropower research and development by emerging organizations. This element is designed to broaden the field of groups contributing to hydropower innovation, encouraging participation from newer or less-established entities that can bring fresh ideas, niche expertise, or regional capabilities. The emphasis is on building capacity and generating credible technical progress that supports hydropower development, which can include early-stage R&D, targeted testing, or applied demonstrations depending on how the FOA defines this track. In practical terms, this topic area helps diversify the innovation pipeline so advances are not limited to only the most established developers, manufacturers, or institutions.
Applications were to be submitted through DOE's EERE eXCHANGE portal, with the original closing date listed as March 5, 2023, and the FOA creation date as October 19, 2022. The FOA directs applicants to review the full announcement and the FOA-specific questions and answers inside eXCHANGE by selecting the correct FOA number. For submission issues, applicants are instructed to contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk at exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov.Apply for DE FOA 0002731
- The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 41006. Water Power Projects: Innovative Technologies to Enable Low Impact Hydropower and Pumped Storage Hydropower Growth" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
- This funding opportunity was created on Oct 19, 2022.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 05, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 41006(a)(1). Water Power Projects: Stakeholder Insight into Hydropower R&D Issues Apply for DE FOA 0002800 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002800 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $4,000,000 |
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40334: Pumped Storage Hydropower Wind and Solar Integration and System Reliability Initiative Apply for DE FOA 0002802 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002802 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $10,000,000 |
| Notice of Intent to issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0002788 entitled Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) - 2022 Apply for DE FOA 0002787 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002787 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Advancing Fish Passage and Protection Technologies Apply for DE FOA 0002801 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002801 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $1,300,000 |
| POWERING UNELECTRIFIED TRIBAL BUILDING(S) - 2022 Apply for DE FOA 0002771 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002771 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $4,000,000 |
| CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY DEPLOYMENT ON TRIBAL LANDS - 2022 Apply for DE FOA 0002774 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002774 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $4,000,000 |
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL): Request for Information (RFI) Energy Efficiency Materials Pilot for Nonprofits Apply for DE FOA 0002879 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002879 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW: LONG-DURATION ENERGY STORAGE DEMONSTRATIONS FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT Apply for DE FOA 0002917 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002917 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $70,000,000 |
| DOE Partnership Intermediary Pilot Apply for DE FOA 0002930 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002930 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Request for Information on BIL titled Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (CIFIA) Program: Future Growth Grants Apply for DE FOA 0002894 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002894 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Request for Information Carbon Storage Technology Operations & Research CarbonSTORE Apply for DE FOA 0002900 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002900 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) 2022 Appropriations Apply for DE FOA 0002700 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002700 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $2,000,000 |
| Industrial Assessment Center Program - Centers of Excellence Apply for DE FOA 0002866 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002866 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $3,750,000 |
| Notice of Intent and Request for Information Regarding Establishment of Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs) at Trade Schools, Community Colleges, and Union Training Programs and Establishment of Building Training and Assessment Centers (BTACs) Apply for DE FOA 0002887 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002887 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002828: To Address Key Deployment Challenges for Offshore, Land-Based, and Distributed Wind Apply for DE FOA 0002828 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002828 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $8,000,000 |
| This is a Notice of Intent to issue Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0002829 Apply for DE FOA 0002895 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002895 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| BIL Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs Apply for DE FOA 0002735 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002735 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $500,000,000 |
| Notice of Intent DE-FOA-0002906 to issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0002907 Apply for DE FOA 0002906 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002906 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Notice of Intent to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled "Onsite Energy Technical Assistance Partnerships" Apply for DE FOA 0002944 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002944 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $8,000,000 |
| Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) – 2022/2023 Apply for DE FOA 0002788 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002788 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $2,500,000 |
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