Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40334: Pumped Storage Hydropower Wind and Solar Integration and System Reliability Initiative | DE FOA 0002802

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002802

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-0002802 under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act). The initiative focuses on pumped storage hydropower (PSH) as a form of long-duration energy storage that can help the grid handle increasing amounts of variable wind and solar generation while improving overall system reliability. Rather than funding construction, this opportunity is aimed at advancing a major PSH project through critical pre-construction and readiness work so it can move closer to licensing and eventual deployment.

DOE plans to invest up to $10 million total through a single anticipated award (ExpectedAwards: 1), structured as a cooperative agreement. A cooperative agreement typically means DOE expects substantial involvement during the project, such as coordinating technical direction, reviewing milestones, and ensuring the work aligns with federal objectives. The funding supports activities like detailed project design, transmission and interconnection studies, power market assessments (to understand where and how the project can earn revenue by providing grid services), and permitting and licensing work. The practical goal is to de-risk and accelerate a large pumped storage project so it can store surplus renewable electricity when it is abundant and deliver that power back to the grid when it is needed most, helping address the intermittency challenges that come with wind and solar.

Eligibility is narrow and tied to project maturity and scale. To qualify, applicants must be associated with a PSH project that already holds a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) preliminary permit and is actively working toward a full license. The project must be at least 1,000 MW in capacity, which places it in the category of very large grid-scale infrastructure. DOE also specifies that the project should be able to participate in multiple markets, reflecting an expectation that it can provide more than one value stream such as energy arbitrage, capacity, ancillary services, and reliability support depending on the regional market structure. A key feature of this FOA is its connection to tribal energy: the pumped storage project is intended to store intermittent renewable energy generated on tribal lands, linking long-duration storage development with renewable buildout and economic opportunities in tribal communities.

A broad range of applicant types is listed as eligible, including state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; and public or Indian housing authorities. Even with that broad list, the practical constraint is that only applicants tied to an already-permitted (at the preliminary permit stage) and very large PSH project pursuing licensing will be competitive or even eligible under the stated requirements. The administering agency is the DOE Golden Field Office, and the funding activity category is Energy under CFDA number 81.087.

Key administrative details include a posting/creation date of October 19, 2022, and an original application closing date of December 15, 2022. The award ceiling is $10,000,000, consistent with DOE planning a single award up to that amount. Full documentation and any official Q&A for this specific FOA are hosted on DOE’s EERE eXCHANGE portal (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/), where applicants must select FOA number DE-FOA-0002802 to view the materials tied specifically to this opportunity.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40334: Pumped Storage Hydropower Wind and Solar Integration and System Reliability Initiative" 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 Dec 15, 2022. (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 $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 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), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for DE FOA 0002802

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