Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002258
The Educational Materials for Professional Organizations Working on Efficiency and Renewable Energy Developments (EMPOWERED) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0002258) is a U.S. Department of Energy program run through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), coordinated across three major offices: the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), and the Building Technologies Office (BTO). It was set up to accelerate the safe, cost-effective, and widely understood adoption of distributed energy resources (DER) by funding the creation and integration of practical educational materials and training resources for professional groups that are now finding themselves face-to-face with these technologies, even though energy is not their primary discipline.
In EMPOWERED, DER is defined broadly to reflect what is showing up across communities and distribution grids: distributed solar (especially rooftop or on-site PV at homes and businesses), efficient and modern building technologies, energy storage systems, and sustainable transportation technologies such as alternative fuel vehicles and electric vehicles, including EV charging infrastructure. The core problem the program addresses is that these technologies are advancing quickly and being deployed widely, but many of the professionals who have real authority over permitting, safety, emergency response, operations, and on-site management have not traditionally been trained on how these systems work, how they should be installed and maintained, and how to interact with them safely and efficiently.
The intended audience is very specifically "front-line" professionals who influence adoption outcomes in the real world. The opportunity highlights groups such as first responders and safety officials, along with building managers, building owners, and other professionals who may not design PV systems or EV chargers themselves but still make critical decisions that affect whether projects move forward smoothly, whether they meet safety expectations, and whether costs stay manageable. The program rationale is that these roles can either remove friction from deployment (through informed standards, procedures, and best practices) or unintentionally add delays and costs when information gaps lead to conservative restrictions, inconsistent practices, or avoidable safety concerns.
Applicants are expected to develop educational and training materials and, importantly, to integrate those resources into professional organizations or established channels that can actually reach practitioners at scale. That emphasis on creation plus integration signals that DOE is not only looking for standalone documents, slide decks, or one-off trainings, but for resources that can be adopted, maintained, updated, and distributed through the organizations that train and credential these workforces. The materials may cover technologies including, but not limited to, PV systems, building efficiency technologies, energy storage, alternative fuel vehicles, EVs, and EV infrastructure, with the unifying theme being interaction with the distribution system and on-the-ground implementation considerations.
From an administrative and funding standpoint, EMPOWERED is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism, meaning DOE expects substantial involvement during the project (for example, collaboration on milestones, review of materials, and coordination to ensure national applicability). The funding activity category is Energy, with CFDA number 81.117. The opportunity anticipated up to four awards, with an award ceiling of $2,250,000. The posting lists a creation date of April 6, 2020, and an original closing date of July 8, 2020, indicating this was a time-bounded solicitation during that period.
Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); individuals; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. In practice, that wide eligibility aligns with the program's applied, workforce-facing goals, since the best-positioned applicants may include professional associations, standards bodies, training providers, universities, public safety training organizations, utilities or industry partners, and consortia that can combine technical expertise with credible access to the target professional communities.
Overall, EMPOWERED is aimed at smoothing the national transition to distributed solar, efficient buildings, and electrified transportation by equipping the people who approve, operate, manage, and respond to these systems with clear, consistent, and actionable training. The expected payoff is improved understanding and acceptance of new energy technologies, stronger safety outcomes, faster and more predictable deployment, and lower soft costs driven by delays, rework, and uncertainty.Apply for DE FOA 0002258
- The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Educational Materials for Professional Organizations Working on Efficiency and Renewable Energy Developments (EMPOWERED)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.117.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 06, 2020.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 08, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,250,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.
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EMPOWERED (DE-FOA-0002258) Grant Opportunity FAQs
What is the EMPOWERED funding opportunity?
EMPOWERED stands for Educational Materials for Professional Organizations Working on Efficiency and Renewable Energy Developments. It is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0002258) that supports the development and integration of practical educational materials and training resources related to distributed energy resources (DER).
Which DOE office runs EMPOWERED?
The program is run through DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and coordinated across three offices: the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), and the Building Technologies Office (BTO).
What problem is EMPOWERED trying to solve?
The opportunity targets a real-world knowledge gap: DER technologies are advancing quickly and being deployed widely, but many front-line professionals who influence safety, permitting, operations, and on-site management have not traditionally been trained on how these systems work or how to interact with them safely and efficiently. Those information gaps can lead to inconsistent practices, conservative restrictions, added delays, higher costs, and avoidable safety concerns.
What does EMPOWERED mean by "distributed energy resources (DER)"?
In this opportunity, DER is defined broadly to reflect what is appearing across communities and distribution grids. It includes distributed solar (especially rooftop or on-site PV), efficient and modern building technologies, energy storage systems, and sustainable transportation technologies such as alternative fuel vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs), including EV charging infrastructure.
Which technologies can the educational materials cover?
Materials may cover technologies including (but not limited to) PV systems, building efficiency technologies, energy storage, alternative fuel vehicles, EVs, and EV infrastructure. The unifying theme is practical interaction with the distribution system and on-the-ground implementation considerations.
Who is the intended audience for the training and educational materials?
The intended audience is front-line professionals who influence adoption outcomes in the real world, including groups such as first responders and safety officials, as well as building managers, building owners, and other professionals who may not design systems themselves but make critical decisions affecting permitting, safety, operations, and deployment timelines.
Why focus on first responders, safety officials, and building professionals?
These roles can either reduce friction in deployment by applying informed standards, procedures, and best practices, or unintentionally add delays and costs when knowledge gaps lead to inconsistent requirements, conservative restrictions, or uncertainty about safety and proper operations.
What kinds of projects is DOE looking to fund under EMPOWERED?
DOE expects applicants to develop educational and training materials and to integrate those resources into professional organizations or established channels that can reach practitioners at scale. The emphasis is on both creation and integration so that the materials are adopted, maintained, updated, and distributed through organizations that train and credential the target workforces.
Is DOE looking for standalone documents or one-off trainings?
The opportunity emphasizes creation plus integration, signaling DOE is not only seeking standalone documents, slide decks, or one-time trainings, but resources that can be embedded into established professional channels and sustained over time.
What does "integration into professional organizations or established channels" mean in practice?
It means the educational content should be positioned to reach practitioners at scale through the organizations and channels that already train, credential, and communicate with the target professionals. The goal is for resources to be adoptable and usable within those existing systems, rather than remaining isolated materials.
What funding mechanism is used for EMPOWERED?
EMPOWERED is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism. This indicates DOE expects substantial involvement during the project, such as collaborating on milestones, reviewing materials, and coordinating to support national applicability.
What does DOE involvement look like under a cooperative agreement?
Based on the opportunity description, DOE involvement can include collaboration on project milestones, review of developed materials, and coordination to help ensure the outputs are nationally applicable and useful across communities.
How many awards were expected?
The opportunity anticipated up to four awards.
What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling listed for this opportunity is $2,250,000.
What is the CFDA number and funding category?
The funding activity category is Energy, and the CFDA number listed is 81.117.
When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?
The posting lists a creation date of April 6, 2020, with an original closing date of July 8, 2020, indicating it was a time-bounded solicitation during that period.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes: state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofits (501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); individuals; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses.
What types of applicants might be well-positioned for EMPOWERED?
Given the workforce-facing and integration-focused goals, likely well-positioned applicants may include professional associations, standards bodies, training providers, universities, public safety training organizations, utilities, industry partners, and consortia that combine technical expertise with credible access to the target professional communities.
What outcomes is EMPOWERED trying to achieve?
The program aims to smooth the national transition to distributed solar, efficient buildings, and electrified transportation by equipping the people who approve, operate, manage, and respond to these systems with clear, consistent, actionable training. Expected benefits include improved understanding and acceptance of new energy technologies, stronger safety outcomes, faster and more predictable deployment, and lower soft costs driven by delays, rework, and uncertainty.
How does the program relate to "soft costs"?
The opportunity highlights that information gaps and inconsistent practices can create delays, rework, and uncertainty. By improving training and standardizing practical understanding among front-line professionals, the program is intended to reduce those non-hardware (soft) costs tied to deployment friction.
Does EMPOWERED only focus on solar?
No. While distributed solar (PV) is included, the opportunity explicitly spans efficient and modern building technologies, energy storage, and sustainable transportation technologies such as alternative fuel vehicles, EVs, and EV charging infrastructure.
Is the focus on utility-scale systems or distribution-level systems?
The framing is centered on distributed energy resources and how they show up across communities and distribution grids, with an emphasis on local implementation, safety, permitting, operations, and real-world interaction with the distribution system.
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