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Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL): Advancing Equity Through Workforce Partnerships - FY 2022

Agency: U.S. Department of Energy
CFDA: 81.117
Federal FON: DE-FOA-0002769
Office: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO)
Multipart Grant: No
Next Due: 12/16/2022 (Multiple)
Solicitation Date: 07/27/2022
   
Match Required: Recommended
Match Type: Unspecified
Actual Funds: $10,000,000 (Estimated)
Award Range: $250,000 (Min) / $1,500,000 (Max)
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to support the development of workforce programs and partnerships that will facilitate the continued deployment of solar energy technologies, while supporting an inclusive workforce with opportunities for career advancement, including through union membership. As part of the whole-of-government approach to advance equity and encourage worker organizing and collective bargaining, this program and any related activities will seek to encourage meaningful engagement and participation of labor unions and underserved communities and under-represented groups, including consultation with tribal nations.

In order to be considered under this program, applicants must propose solar-centered workforce development programs oriented around advancing worker empowerment; diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and environmental justice (EJ) goals; improving career opportunities; and other related priorities. In addition, key elements of successful applications will include many, if not all, of the following characteristics:

  • Multistakeholder teams: applicants should bring together multistakeholder teams that include employers, training providers, labor unions, local government partners, and community-based organizations (CBOs) working in or serving disadvantaged communities (DACs) or other high-risk, under-represented, or underserved populations
  • Demand-driven: applicants should demonstrate knowledge and awareness of industry needs and skills requirements both at the national level and in their proposed region of focus
  • Worker-centric: applicants should demonstrate ways that they would balance employer needs with a worker-centric training program that empowers workers, meets individuals where they are with comprehensive support services to overcome their specific barriers to employment, and provides placement services
  • Leveraging existing infrastructure and resources: applicants should describe how they will leverage existing training infrastructure and resources developed by other local, state, and federal programs, or leverage public or private funding sources or financing models
  • Sustainability and replicability: applicants must demonstrate how their proposed project would produce a meaningful and long-term impact on the solar industry beyond each award's period of performance
  • Prioritization of energy justice: applicants should orient their projects around increasing DEIA within the solar workforce and supporting Justice40 priorities

Projects should primarily relate to photovoltaic (PV) solar deployment and associated careers including in installation, system design, operations and maintenance (O&M), electrical work, project management, sales, and business operations. The following are types of applications that the funding agency expects to receive and may potentially fund as a result of this program:

  • Apprenticeship readiness (pre-apprenticeship) or apprenticeship partnership: a labor union or nonprofit organization could propose to launch or expand a training program that effectively integrates solar curriculum and on-the-job training into an apprenticeship readiness or apprenticeship program, and include a DEIA-focused recruitment initiative
  • Community-led training partnerships: CBOs, nonprofit organizations, tribal entities, or local governments and governmental entities could propose to build new solar-focused career development programs or could propose to expand or replicate new programs to new communities or regions of the country
  • Clean energy sector partnerships: a regional or national nonprofit organization, local government entity, or other organization could propose to serve as a regional or national workforce intermediary and convener to bring together relevant stakeholders

Other new or innovative types of programs that advance the funding agency's goals around solar workforce development and equitable access will also be considered. Other types of proposed programs should include a clear justification for, and documentation of, industry need, expected benefits for EJ and underserved communities, and alignment with other elements of a successful program. Proposals focused on manufacturing for solar PV modules and other equipment will be considered, but is not expected to be the primary area of focus for the funding program.

Optional webinars are scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for additional information.

Last Updated: June 26, 2023

Eligibility Notes:

Eligible applicants are domestic entities, including:

  • Institutions of higher education
  • For-profit entities
  • Nonprofit entities
  • State and local governmental entities and tribal nations

To qualify as a domestic entity, the entity must be organized, chartered, incorporated, or otherwise formed under the laws of a particular state or territory of the United States; have majority domestic ownership and control; and have a physical place of business in the United States.

Domestic incorporated consortia are eligible to participate as a prime recipient or subrecipient. Each consortium must have an internal governance structure and a written set of internal rules. Unincorporated consortia must designate one member of the consortium to serve as the prime recipient/consortium representative.

Refer to the PotentialPartnerList file for a list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency.

Unions are encouraged to apply, either as lead organizations or as members of project teams. Applicants with projects that are led by, or have as part of their project team, minority-led or woman-led entities are also encouraged to apply.

An entity may submit more than one concept paper and full application, provided that each application describes a unique, scientifically distinct project and provided that an eligible concept paper was submitted for each full application.

Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) are eligible to apply as a prime recipient or subrecipient. Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are eligible to participate as a subrecipient, but are not eligible to apply as a prime recipient. Federal agencies and instrumentalities, other than DOE, are eligible to participate as a subrecipient, but are not eligible to apply as a prime recipient.

Only new applications will be accepted. Applications for renewals of existing awards funded by the funding agency will not be accepted; however, organizations that have current awards with the funding agency are eligible to apply as long as they submit a new application.

FY 2022 award applicants include:

  • Adaptive Construction Solutions (TX)
  • Amicus O&M Cooperative (CO)
  • Cook County (IL)
  • Kern Community College District (CA)
  • Red Cloud Renewable (SD)

Refer to the Award file for additional information on FY 2022 award recipients.

Eligible Applicants:
Local Government
Academic Institutions
Consortia
Native American Tribe
Non Profits
Other
State Government
Application Notes:

Mandatory, non-binding letters of intent must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on September 13, 2022.

Letters of intent must be submitted online at eere-exchange.energy.gov.

Letters of intent must include:

  • Project title
  • Lead organization
  • Organization type
  • Whether the application has been previously submitted to the funding agency
  • Percentage of effort contributed by the lead organization
  • The project team
  • Technical topic or area
  • Abstract (200 words max)

Mandatory concept papers must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on September 20, 2022.

Concept papers must be submitted online at eere-exchange.energy.gov.

Concept papers must include:

  • Cover page (1 page max)
  • Project description (3 pages max)
  • Addendum (2 pages max)

Concept papers will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • The applicant clearly describes the proposed program, how the program is unique and innovative, and how the program will advance the current state-of-the-art
  • The applicant has identified risks and challenges, including possible mitigation strategies, and has shown the impact that funding and the proposed project would have on the relevant field and application
  • The applicant has the qualifications, experience, capabilities, and other resources necessary to complete the proposed project
  • The proposed work, if successfully accomplished, would clearly meet the program objectives

The funding agency will encourage a subset of applicants to submit full applications. Other applicants will be discouraged from submitting a full application; however, an applicant that receives a "discouraged" notification may still submit a full application.

Full applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on December 6, 2022.

The due date for the application has been extended to 5:00 p.m. ET on December 16, 2022. Additional information is included in the DueDateExt file.

Full applications must be submitted online at eere-exchange.energy.gov.

Full applications must include:

  • Technical volume (15 pages max)
  • Resumes (2 pages max each)
  • Letters of commitment (1 page max each)
  • Statement of project objectives (SOPO) (5 pages max)
  • SF 424
  • Budget justification workbook
  • Summary/abstract for public release (1 page max)
  • Summary slide (1 page max)
  • Subrecipient budget justification (if applicable)
  • DOE work proposal for FFRDC (if applicable)
  • Authorization from cognizant contracting officer for FFRDC (if applicable)
  • SF LLL
  • Waiver requests (if applicable)
  • Current and pending support

All pages must be formatted to fit on standard-sized paper with margins not less than one inch on every side. Applicants must use Calibri typeface, a black font color, and a font size of 12-point or larger, except in figures or tables, which may be in 10-point font. References must be included as footnotes or endnotes in a font size of 10-point or larger. The control number must be prominently displayed on the upper right corner of the header of every page. Page numbers must be included in the footer of every page. The maximum file size that can be uploaded online is 10 MB. If a file exceeds 10 MB but is still within the maximum page limit, it must be broken into parts and denoted to that effect. Files must be formatted and named according to the specifications detailed on page 33 of the NOFA file.

The following are required in order to submit an application:

  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
  • SAM (System for Award Management) registration

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.

Optional webinars will be held for this program as follows:

August 4, 2022
2:00 p.m. ET
Registration: doe.webex.com

August 16, 2022
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET
Registration: www.zoomgov.com

Full applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Technical merit, innovation, and impact (50 percent):
    • Technical merit and innovation
    • Impact of technology advancement
    • Project management
    • Job quality
    • Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility
    • Justice40 Initiative
  • Project research and market transformation plan (20 percent):
    • Research approach, workplan, and SOPO
    • Identification of technical risks
    • Baseline, metrics, and deliverables
    • Sustainability and dissemination plan
  • Team and resources (30 percent)

Refer to the NOFA file for additional application information.

Match Required: Recommended
Match Type: Unspecified
Actual Funds: $10,000,000 (Estimated)
Award Range: $250,000 (Min) / $1,500,000 (Max)
Match Notes:

Matching funds are not required for this program; however, cost share is encouraged in order to extend the impact of projects.

Funding Notes:

Approximately $10 million is expected to be available through this program to support approximately 8 to 16 awards expected to range from $250,000 to $1.5 million. In general, the funding agency uses cooperative agreements to provide financial and other support to award recipients.

In general, funds will be provided on a reimbursement basis; however, advance payments for lower-risk award recipients will be considered, as detailed in the Q&A file.

Selection notifications are expected to be made in late February 2023, and award negotiations are expected to take place in March and April 2023.

The period of performance is expected to run from 24 up to 36 months in length, comprised of one or more budget periods. Project continuation will be contingent upon several elements, including satisfactory performance and the funding agency's go/no-go decision, as detailed on pages 67-68 of the NOFA file.

Award recipients must request prior written approval to charge pre-award costs. Award recipients must also obtain written authorization from the contracting officer before incurring any major construction costs.

Funds will not support:

  • Projects related to concentrating solar power (CSP) or other solar-thermal heating systems
  • Projects that fall outside the technical parameters of this program
  • Proposed technologies that are not based on sound scientific principles
  • Single employer programs or programs without formal partnerships
  • Costs to support or oppose union organizing, whether directly or as an offset for other funds
  • Foreign travel costs
  • Lobbying

For FY 2022, a total of $13.5 million was distributed via 12 awards ranging from $725,000 to $1.5 million through this program. Refer to the Award file for details.

Contacts:

Program Staff
Seto.workforceFOA22@ee.doe.gov

Agency Address
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Forrestal Building
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20585

Contact Notes:

Questions should be directed to the program staff no later than three business days prior to the application due date and time. All questions and answers will be posted online at eere-exchange.energy.gov.

Letters of intent, concept papers, and full applications must be submitted online at eere-exchange.energy.gov.

The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.

Files:
Other Pre-Award File: US17522_WebinarSchedule_FY2022.pdf (157.4 Kb)
NOFA File: US17522_NOFA_FY2022.pdf (907.8 Kb)
Application File: US17522_Application_FY2022.zip (1.1 Mb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17522_DueDateExt_FY2022.pdf (346.5 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17522_Q&A_FY2022.xlsx (40.4 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17522_PotentialPartnerList_FY2022.xlsx (50.1 Kb)
Award File: US17522_Award_FY2022.pdf (185.0 Kb)
File Notes:

The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The Application folder contains required forms for submission. The WebinarSchedule file contains information regarding an optional webinar scheduled for this program. The DueDateExt file contains the updated due date for the application. The Q&A file contains a list of questions and answers regarding this program. The PotentialPartnerList file contains a list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency. The Award file contains information on FY 2022 award recipients. Additional program resources can be found online at eere-exchange.energy.gov.

June 26, 2023
Information regarding awards through this program has been released and attached as the Award file. A brief summary of the awards has been added to the Financial section, and a sample of award recipients has been added to the Eligibility section.

December 12, 2022
An updated list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency has been released and attached as the PotentialPartnerList file.

December 8, 2022
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file.

December 1, 2022
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. Additionally, an updated list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency has been released and attached as the PotentialPartnerList file.

November 28, 2022
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. Additionally, an updated list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency has been released and attached as the PotentialPartnerList file.

November 14, 2022
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. Additionally, an updated list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency has been released and attached as the PotentialPartnerList file.

November 7, 2022
An announcement concerning the changing of the due date for the application has been released and attached as the DueDateExt file. The Application section has been updated accordingly.

November 4, 2022
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file.

October 24, 2022
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. Additionally, an updated list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency has been released and attached as the PotentialPartnerList file.

October 14, 2022
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. Additionally, an updated list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency has been released and attached as the PotentialPartnerList file.

September 29, 2022
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. Additionally, an updated list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency has been released and attached as the PotentialPartnerList file.

September 16, 2022
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. Additionally, an updated list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency has been released and attached as the PotentialPartnerList file. The Financial section has been updated accordingly.

September 12, 2022
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. Additionally, an updated list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency has been released and attached as the PotentialPartnerList file.

August 26, 2022
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. Additionally, an updated list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency has been released and attached as the PotentialPartnerList file.

August 11, 2022
A list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. Additionally, a list of potential project partners compiled by the funding agency has been released and attached as the PotentialPartnerList file. The Eligibility section has been updated accordingly.

August 9, 2022
Information regarding an optional webinar scheduled for this program has been released and attached as the WebinarSchedule file. The Application section has been updated accordingly.

Grant Keywords
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Grant Categories
Training & Vocational Services
Energy
Human Services