Transmission Acceleration Grants (TAG) Program - FY 2025
| Agency: | U.S. Department of Energy |
|---|---|
| Office: | Grid Deployment Office (GDO) TechWerx |
| Multipart Grant: | No |
| Next Due: | 01/21/2025 (Application) |
|---|---|
| Solicitation Date: | 10/31/2024 |
| Match Required: | No |
| Actual Funds: | $10,000,000 (Confirmed) |
| Award Range: | $3,000,000 (Max) |
Summary:
The purpose of this program is to accelerate transmission deployment in order to enhance grid reliability, lower energy costs for families and businesses, and connect more clean energy resources to the grid. Funding will allow states and tribes to engage in transmission planning and conduct efficient and effective siting and permitting processes, which will collectively help advance transmission infrastructure at a faster rate, increasing access to a diverse array of energy sources, reducing transmission congestion and energy prices, and delivering reliable, affordable power to consumers when and where they need it. This program will also help ensure that local communities are heard and impacts from new transmission infrastructure are effectively addressed.
Funding will support the following four main categories of activities:
- Efforts to identify and/or evaluate corridors, zones, or other types of areas that may be designated as preferred locations for siting transmission infrastructure; these may be collaborative, multijurisdictional initiatives or single-state efforts
- Efforts to streamline and centralize transmission siting and permitting processes and approvals, especially in jurisdictions where permitting authority is spread among many different actors, such as through establishing a single statewide permitting authority or joining together with one or more neighboring states to establish a shared multistate permitting authority
- Efforts to centralize, or otherwise enhance or expand, transmission-related activities other than siting and permitting, such as engaging in transmission planning, establishing state- or tribal-based funding or financing programs for transmission facilities, developing new transmission-focused governmental organizations, pursuing coordination among entities within the state or with other states, or other related activities, either encompassing only one state or including multiple states
- Surge funding to increase capacity of state and tribal siting authorities to help meet rising siting and permitting workloads, particularly where the siting and permitting authority faces unprecedented levels of demand
An optional webinar and optional office hours are scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for details.
Eligibility Notes:
Eligible applicants are state or tribal governmental entities, or entities working with them such as regional transmission planning organizations, regional-state committees, or nonprofit organizations.
Applications may include multiple entities; however, teams must have a clearly defined lead organization. Joint applications with multiple co-lead organizations will not be accepted.
Teams do not need to include a state or tribal entity; however, if the application is submitted by an entity that is not itself a state or tribal entity, it must sufficiently demonstrate how the funding will be utilized to support efforts by state or tribes consistent with the goals of this program.
An entity may submit only one application; however, it may be a participant in multiple applications led by other entities.
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) are not eligible for funding through this program; however, they may be proposed as subrecipients on another entity's application.
Eligible Applicants:
ConsortiaNative American Tribe
Non Profits
State Government
Application Notes:
Applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on January 21, 2025.
Applications must be submitted online at www.techwerx.org/applications.
Applications must include:
- Basic questions
- Project narrative (7 pages max):
- Cover page
- Project description and objectives (4 pages max)
- Project workplan and budget (2 pages max)
- Letters of support (optional)
- List of collaborators (optional)
The project narrative must use a 12-point font and one-inch margins.
An optional webinar will be held for this program as follows:
November 13, 2024
1:00 p.m. ET
Registration: rtiorg.zoom.us
Optional office hours will be held for this program as follows:
December 3, 2024
2:00 p.m. ET
January 14, 2025
3:00 p.m. ET
Additional information regarding the office hours is unavailable. eCivis Grants Network will be updated if additional information becomes available.
Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Technical merit (50 percent)
- Technical approach and understanding (35 percent)
- Technical and management capabilities (15 percent)
Refer to the NOFA, ProjectNarrativeTemplate, and FAQ files for additional application information.
| Match Required: | No |
|---|---|
| Actual Funds: | $10,000,000 (Confirmed) |
| Award Range: | $3,000,000 (Max) |
|---|
Match Notes:
Matching funds are not required for this program.
Funding Notes:
A total of $10 million is available to support partnership intermediary agreements (PIAs) of up to $3 million through this program. PIAs are agreements between the federal government and nonfederal partners, or partnership intermediaries (PIs), designed to support the funding agency's mission to expand the development and deployment of transmission solutions, heighten energy security, and strengthen national energy ecosystems.
Payments will be made based on progress towards milestones. Upon completion of each milestone, the award recipient will submit the associated deliverable for the funding agency to review. Within 30 days of receiving the deliverable, the award recipient will receive the payment associated with that milestone.
Selected organizations are expected to be notified in April 2025 regarding next steps. Negotiations will occur for approximately two months after selections are made, and agreements are expected to be executed in summer 2025.
The project period is expected to start in summer 2025 and may last up to 12 months.
Applicants must budget for a kickoff meeting with the funding agency that is expected to last one day.
Contacts:
Program Staff
info@techwerx.org
Agency Address
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, D.C. 20585
Contact Notes:
Questions should be directed to the program staff.
Applications must be submitted online at www.techwerx.org/applications.
The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.
Files:
NOFA File: US18250_NOFA_FY2025.pdf (219.2 Kb)Other Pre-Award File: US18250_ProjectNarrativeTemplate_FY2025.docx (33.6 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US18250_FAQ_FY2025.pdf (122.4 Kb)
File Notes:
The NOFA file contains detailed program information and application guidelines. The ProjectNarrativeTemplate file contains a template that applicants are encouraged to fill out to help complete their project narrative. The FAQ file contains a list of answers to frequently asked questions regarding this program.