Solar America Initiative (SAI) Market Transformation: State and Utility Solar Technical Outreach

The summary for the Solar America Initiative (SAI) Market Transformation: State and Utility Solar Technical Outreach grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Golden Field Office, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Solar America Initiative (SAI) Market Transformation: State and Utility Solar Technical Outreach: A link to the full Funding Opportunity Announcement is found by scrolling to the bottom of this page. In January 2006, the President announced his Advanced Energy Initiative. An integral part of this Initiative is the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Solar America Initiative (SAI). The goal of the SAI is to reduce the cost of solar photovoltaic technologies so that they become cost-competitive by 2015. To complement the R D and testing/evaluation activities that are the backbone of the SAI, the DOE will conduct Market Transformation (MT) efforts. MT activities fall into two areas: 1. activities which provide technical, regulatory, institutional, financial and educational solutions to market transformation barriers; and 2. those which accelerate demand for new solar technologies primarily through provision of technical assistance. There are several aspects to SAI that define it as a new approach for DOE and should be kept in mind by applicants in formulating applications: 1. SAI MT is looking to identify and remove market barriers; 2. SAI MT is looking for significant market changing activities; 3. SAI MT is focused on near and mid term results; and 4. SAI MT is looking for performers and partners who are committed to the SAI mission. Technologies addressed under this FOA include photovoltaics (PV), concentrating solar power (CSP), and solar water/air heating technologies (SWAH). This Financial Opportunity Announcement of the SAI is comprised of two Topic Areas that support the Market Transformation mission of the SAI. Topic Area 1 covers State Solar Technical Outreach and Topic Area 2 covers Utility Solar Technical Outreach. Applicants may submit applications under one or more Topic Areas with the following restrictions: 1) An applicant may not submit an application that covers more than one technical topic. Separate applications must be submitted for separate technical topics; and 2) In each topic area, an eligible entity may only participate under one (1) application, either as the primary applicant or as a team partner. Topic Area 1: State Solar Technical Outreach States are critical partners in achieving the success of the SAI, since they are key drivers for solar technology market transformation within their borders. Because of limitations in developing direct partnerships with fifty States, DOE is soliciting for select State membership organizations to act as a conduit between DOE and key State decision-makers on solar issues. These organizations understand the most pressing solar issues faced by their members and are well positioned to deliver the assistance to States to help enable success of solar programs, as well as the SAI. The Recipient organization(s) will represent one or a variety of State entities, such as State legislatures, energy offices, public utility commissions, air quality offices, and others. The Recipient(s) will foster strong relationships with State stakeholders on solar issues to identify and provide solutions to identified market barriers to solar energy technology adoption and enable key commercialization activities to promote the SAI. Topic Area 2: Utility Solar Technical Outreach Participation by utilities in SAI is absolutely crucial to the success of the initiative. Utilities have the ability to enable sweeping progressive changes across large market areas for solar technologies. DOE sees utilities as essential partners in reaching SAI goals, yet, cannot practically work with each utility across the Nation. Therefore, as under the Solar State Technical Outreach activity, DOE is soliciting for select utility membership organizations who are well positioned to deliver key assistance to utilities as needed to enable the success of the SAI. Recipient(s) will foster strong strategic relationships with utilities on solar issues to identify and provide solutions to strategic market barriers to solar energy technology adoption and enable key commercialization activities to promote the SAI. Applications for this Funding Opportunity Announcement must be accessed, completed, and submitted through Grants.gov at http://www.grants.gov to be considered for award. Questions regarding the content of the announcement should be submitted through the Submit Question feature of the DOE Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) at http://e-center.doe.gov. VERY IMPORTANT: To complete and submit applications through Grants.gov, there are several actions you must complete (e.g., obtain a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, register with the Central Contract Registry (CCR), install the PureEdge Viewer, register with the credential provider, and register with Grants.gov). Applicants are highly encouraged to register as soon as possible and should allow at least 21 days to complete the registration process. When you have completed the process, you should call the Grants.gov Helpdesk at 1-800-518-4726 to verify that you have completed the final step (i.e. Grants.gov registration). Registration Instructions are found on the Grants.gov web site at http://www.grants.gov and in the Funding Opportunity Announcement. Should you have questions regarding the operation of Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov Contact Center at [email protected] or 1-800-518-4726. Contact Center hours of operation are Monday - Friday from 7:00am to 9:00pm Eastern Standard Time.