Request for Information (RFI): Engaging States to Advance State Energy Office Priorities | DE FOA 0002274

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002274

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and its State Energy Program (SEP), issued this Request for Information (RFI) to gather practical input on how DOE can better support State Energy Offices (SEOs). Rather than funding a specific project, the RFI is designed to collect feedback from the field and identify organizations with the capability to provide expertise, tools, and technical assistance that helps states run stronger energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. DOE is especially interested in hearing directly from state energy office directors and their senior policy staff, since they are the people designing and implementing state-led programs and can speak to what kind of federal support is most useful and where current assistance falls short.

At its core, the RFI is about improving how SEP delivers targeted technical assistance and direct support to states. DOE is looking for information that can help states advance energy policies and programs that strengthen affordability (keeping energy costs manageable for residents and businesses), reliability (ensuring energy systems perform consistently), and resiliency (helping energy systems withstand and recover from disruptions). By collecting responses from a wide range of stakeholders, DOE aims to understand what expertise exists outside the federal government and how it could be organized or deployed to better meet state priorities, whether that involves planning support, program design help, technology integration guidance, market development strategies, implementation best practices, or other forms of hands-on assistance that SEOs can actually use.

The RFI is open to input from essentially any type of organization, including private industry, universities and research institutions, nonprofit organizations, and other qualified entities, and the eligible applicant category is listed as unrestricted. This wide eligibility reflects that DOE is not selecting grantees through this notice but instead is trying to map capabilities and collect informed recommendations. The opportunity is categorized under the energy funding activity area and is associated with CFDA number 81.041 (State Energy Program). The issuing office is the Golden Field Office, and the opportunity is identified as DE-FOA-0002274.

Responses were required to be submitted electronically by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on October 16, 2020, via email to StateEnergyOfficeRFIDOEWIP@ee.doe.gov. DOE also pointed respondents to the complete RFI text on EERE Exchange under the same opportunity number. While the listing includes fields such as an award ceiling and expected awards, this notice functions as an information-gathering request, meaning its primary output is improved program planning and better-designed future technical assistance or support mechanisms for state energy offices, not immediate grant awards under this announcement.

• The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Request for Information (RFI): Engaging States to Advance State Energy Office Priorities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.041.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-09-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-10-16. (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 $2.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for DE FOA 0002274

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